Waratahs v Western Force: Teams

Polota-Nau: Rested

The Waratahs will be hopeful of claiming back-to-back wins as they welcome Western Force to Sydney this weekend.

The hosts beat the Melbourne Rebels 28-9 last week, a result that not only ensured they didn't concede a Melbourne try in either of their 2011 fixtures but cemented second spot in the Australian Conference.

The Force currently sit fourth, some 12 points adrift of the Waratahs after losing 42-30 at home to the Crusaders last week.

And having beaten the Force 31-3 in Perth four weeks ago in Round Eight, the Waratahs will be hoping they can reproduce the performance which allowed the backline to run in four unanswered tries to score a bonus-point victory.

However, the Force have beaten the Brumbies, Bulls and ran the Crusaders mighty close since then and have set their sights on winning all four of their remaining Super Rugby derbies in an ambitious bid to finish second in the Australian Conference.

Playing catch-up

Although the Force's finals hopes are slender following their slow start to the season, coach Richard Graham is confident his team has the ability and form to overhaul the Brumbies and Waratahs.

"There's the old cliche 'you've got to look after yourself', and in this instance we can," Graham told AAP. "We've got the four other teams (to play in the Australian conference) and it's very important we win all four of those games.

"There's no doubt everyone loves to play the 'Tahs. (It's a) good opportunity for us this weekend. We need to go there and win. If we do that we'll look after ourselves as our season progresses."

The Force's only win over the 'Tahs came in Sydney in 2009 and the hosts go into the game without Tatafu Polota-Nau, who has been rested after suffering a head knock against the Rebels.

The Force have lost international full-back Cameron Shepherd, which has forced a reshuffle in their backline.

Waratahs15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Ryan Cross, 12 Tom Carter, 11 Sosene Anesi, 10 Berrick Barnes, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Ben Mowen, 7 Pat McCutcheon, 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Sitaleki Timani, 4 Dean Mumm(c), 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 John Ulugia, 1 Benn Robinson
Replacements: 16 Ben Roberts, 17 Al Baxter, 18 Kane Douglas, 19 Chris Alcock, 20 Brendan McKibbin, 21 Daniel Halangahu, 22 Tom Kingston.

Western Force: 15 Pat Dellit, 14 Nick Cummins, 13 Mitch Inman, 12 James O'Connor, 11 David Smith, 10 Willie Ripia, 9 Brett Sheehan, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Matt Hodgson, 5 Nathan Sharpe (c), 4 Sam Wykes, 3 Matt Dunning, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Pek Cowan.
Replacements: 16 Ben Whittaker, 17 Tim Fairbrother, 18 Tom Hockings, 19 Ben McCalman, 20 James Stannard, 21 Rory Sidey, 22 Alfie Mafi.