Dave Dennis has admitted the Waratahs forwards were in "cruise mode" for the first few weeks of the season but have flipped the switched in time to fight to retain their Super Rugby title.
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The NSW captain was explaining a sudden uplift in physicality from himself and several other senior Waratahs, including Wycliff Palu, Jacques Potgieter and Benn Robinson.
The pack's collective effort last week against the form team in the competition, the Hurricanes, was miles ahead of dusty weeks against the Stormers, Highlanders and Force.
Dennis, who re-signed this week with the Waratahs for two more seasons, said it came down to being "a bit more switched-on upstairs" after a slow start to the year.
"I'll never make excuses for anyone but I think some of the senior guys, particularly the guys who've come off the back of a long year, it probably took them a while to get going in terms of what's required," he said. "It's quite demanding physically and mentally, playing at this level for so long, and probably early on we were a little bit in cruise mode, maybe. Over the last three or four weeks the mental focus and the preparation during the week has been at a lot higher a standard and I think that's contributed to the senior guys being a bit more effective on the field."
Their focus will be tested this week against the Rebels, who are full of confidence after knocking over the Brumbies in Canberra and are welcoming back winger Dom Shipperley to their line-up.
There have been personnel changes galore to keep the pack on its toes. After spending most of the season in the second row, Dennis will start at No.8 to give Wycliff Palu a rest after a barnstormer of a game in Wellington.
Jacques Potgieter stays at No.6 and Mitchell Chapman starts in the second row with Will Skelton, while Palu will be used off the bench.
In the only other change, Test hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau makes his first start since returning from concussion, squeezing out Tolu Latu to reunite the Waratahs' all-Wallaby front-row combination of Polota-Nau, Benn Robinson and Sekope Kepu.
They will be tested by the new generation of Australian tight forwards, including hooker Pat Leafa and tighthead Paul Alo-Emile, who will line up next to experienced New Zealand loosehead Toby Smith.
Leicester-bound winger Peter Betham has held on to his starting spot after scoring a double against the Hurricanes, leaving Taqele Naiyaravoro on an extended bench, named by coach Michael Cheika late on Thursday.
The Rebels have decided to leave out forward Luke Jones, who pulled up with concussion symptoms after his team's 13-8 win over the Brumbies. Sam Jeffries replaces him on the bench, with Cadeyrn Neville elevated to start in the second row alongside Wallabies bolter Lopeti Timani.
With the Rebels sitting just four points off the Waratahs and seven off the Brumbies on the competition log, Dennis said Australian conference bragging rights were wide open.
"I've never felt it's been a two-way race or a one-way street, it's always been an open and tough conference," he said. "The Rebels have always been a genuine threat, they just haven't had that consistency in previous years, but this year they're really finding that and they have something special going on down there."
