The summer holidays are over for the Waratahs' rep stars with coach Chris Hickey naming every available Wallaby for Friday night's Super 14 trial in Newcastle.

Hickey has made 12 changes to the starting side which beat the Queensland Reds 17-5 in Toowoomba last week, calling on his big guns for the clash with the Fiji Warriors at EnergyAustralia Stadium.

Star pair Timana Tahu and Lote Tuqiri get their first run of the season and their inclusion will inject extra spark and pace into a youthful backline.

Peter Playford has retained his place in the starting line-up on the back of his stunning double against the Reds, but moves from the centres to the wing.

Wallaby scrum-half Luke Burgess returns for duty, while Dean Mumm joins Will Caldwell in the second row at the expense of Chris Thompson and Kane Douglas, who have been relegated to the reserves.

Mumm and Caldwell will be keen to assert their dominance in the set-piece as Hickey experiments with different combinations, to fill the void left by Dan Vickerman and Rocky Elsom who have moved to Europe.

Spring tourist props Benn Robinson, Tatafu Polota-Nau and Al Baxter return to galvanise the pack against an imposing Fijian front row.

New coach Hickey has elected to keep Phil Waugh as captain and praised his invaluable contribution on the paddock.

"Phil first captained the Waratahs in 2001 and he's been a leader within the team ever since," Hickey said on Tuesday.

"His leadership both on and off the field are extremely important to the ongoing success of the team."

Hickey also said the Tahs need to shift up a gear if they are to beat the Warriors.

"The pre-season is all about escalating your program each week so you continue to build into round one and this week is another step in that direction," he said.

"We played the Fiji Warriors on the Development Tour in October and we only came away with a narrow win, so we know were going to have to be on top of our game to get the result we're after.

"We came out of the Reds trial with a few things to work on and we'll continue to do that in the lead-up to Friday's match."

The only Test stars not named were injured forwards Wycliff Palu and Matt Dunning.

Waratahs: Lachie Turner, Peter Playford, Timana Tahu, Tom Carter, Lote Tuqiri, Daniel Halangahu, Luke Burgess, Scott Fava, Phil Waugh, Ben Mowen, Will Caldwell, Dean Mumm, Al Baxter, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Benn Robinson.

Reserves: Adam Freier, Jeremy Tilse, Beau Robinson, Chris Thomson, Jeremy Sua, Sam Norton-Knight, Kurtley Beale, Dan Palmer, Dave Dennis, Kane Douglas, Rob Horne, Pat McCutcheon, Matt Carraro.

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