NSW coach Chris Hickey has named a 26-man squad for the Waratahs' vital Super 14 tour of South Africa.

Experienced prop Al Baxter returns to the squad after missing the last four matches with a calf injury, while Rob Horne has also been named despite a hamstring strain keeping the young centre out of last Saturday's loss to the Western Force.

Along with Baxter and Horne, the squad features the 22 players who lined up against the Force, as well as David Dennis and Matt Carraro.

After back-to-back defeats, the sixth-placed Waratahs realistically need to win all three matches in South Africa against the Lions, Sharks and Cheetahs to make the finals.

"We've got a really big assignment ahead of us in South Africa, but we've got the players who can get the job done," Hickey said.

"The players who are fit and haven't been selected will remain on standby in Sydney and will continue to work hard so they're ready if required."

The Waratahs, who have the bye this weekend, will fly to Johannesburg on Saturday to begin preparations for their clash with the Cheetahs, before relocating to Durban ahead of their matches against the Sharks and Lions.

"Given we've hit the bye pretty late in the season, it's good to receive it before heading to South Africa," Hickey said.

"There's a lot of different theories as to the best approach to take when travelling to South Africa, but given we've got at least three matches there it will be good to have a full week over there ahead of the first game.

Waratahs touring squad: backs - Kurtley Beale, Luke Burgess, Matt Carraro, Tom Carter, Daniel Halangahu, Rob Horne, Sam Norton-Knight, Peter Playford, Brett Sheehan, Timana Tahu, Lote Tuqiri, Lachie Turner; forwards - Al Baxter, Will Caldwell, David Dennis, Luke Doherty, Damien Fitzpatrick, Sekope Kepu, Ben Mowen, Dean Mumm, Dan Palmer, Wycliff Palu, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Benn Robinson, Chris Thomson, Phil Waugh (capt).

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