NSW coach Chris Hickey has ordered his Waratahs to stand tall in a collective effort to nullify Cheetahs dangerman Heinrich Brussow in Saturday night's Super Rugby match in Sydney.

While the winless Cheetahs sit stone motherless last after four rounds of the competition, Hickey says the South Africans shape as a different proposition altogether with Brussow back on deck.

After being sidelined since last March following two knee operations, the low-gravity Springboks flanker made a successful 48-minute comeback in the Cheetahs' 25-20 weekend loss to the Lions.

With veteran captain Phil Waugh being rested, sevens star Pat McCutcheon has the onerous task of keeping Brussow in check as the Waratahs look to bounce back from their last-up loss to the Crusaders.

"It's a big challenge," McCutcheon said on Thursday.

"This is his first (full) game back. Look, he's probably not going to be at the top of his game, but he's a world-class player and you can never let that out of your sights."

Hickey conceded Brussow was nigh impossible to completely stop, but said minimising his influence would be NSW's priority at the SFS.

"You've got to be aware of staying on your feet when you're going into contact," Hickey said.

"If you go to ground too quickly, you bring a player like Brussow into the game.

"Getting our supports to our (ball-carrying) man early is also important to us. If we can do those two things well, you don't eliminate him, but you neutralise his impact on the game."

Hickey has no doubts McCutcheon, a five-game Super rugby rookie, is capable of filling 126-game veteran Waugh's No.7 jumper.

"Brussow is world class. There's no doubt about that. But I think they're the sort of challenges that young blokes like Pat relish," Hickey said.

"He brings a lot of energy, he's got a high work rate and he's very good at the breakdown. From that point of view, he's probably an ideal replacement for Phil.

The NSW scrum capitulated against the Crusaders after Tatafu Polota-Nau was replaced before halftime in Nelson and the powerhouse Wallabies hooker will again be absent on Saturday.

"The Cheetahs would have done their analysis and would have seen that perhaps they think there's an opportunity there (at the scrum)," Hickey said.

"It's obviously an area that we were dissatisfied in with our performance there and something we've worked hard on.

"They've got a big front row, scrummaging is a big focus in their game so it's an area that we know that we're going to have to perform up to our top level.

"The Cheetahs' set piece is very strong. They're a big side; they're very direct in how they play.

"If they're able to get the momentum through that directness and that through physicality, they've also got the ability to play with some width and they've got some speed on the wings.

"So the physical confrontation and winning the physical battles up front will go a long way to deciding who gets the ascendancy in this game."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP