The NSW Waratahs turned their Super 12 season around with an emphatic 49-31 victory against fellow title contenders the Hurricanes at Aussie Stadium.

Doomsayers had written off NSW following a record four straight losses, but the Waratahs showed they were far from a spent force with a comprehensive performance.

As well as securing a vital bonus point for their seven-try haul, the Waratahs got a large dose of confidence which will be crucial heading into next week's crunch match against competition leaders and interstate rivals the ACT Brumbies next Saturday.

In front of the second biggest Super 12 crowd ever at Aussie Stadium - 38,671 - the Waratahs weren't faultless, but they showed a huge improvement on their disappointing performances of late.

"We've got a win up so we're pretty happy about that but there's still a lot of work to be done in this competition," NSW coach Ewen McKenzie said.

"We're pleased to get back on the right foot this week and it sets us up for a pretty positive training week before the Brumbies."

The forwards laid the platform for the victory, dominating the Hurricanes in every department with lineout kingpins Justin Harrison and Dan Vickerman, as well as No.8 David Lyons, doing plenty of damage.

Their showing gave five-eighth Shaun Berne plenty of space and time and he delivered a man of the match outing, including a first-half try off a neat grubber into the in-goal.

The Waratahs led 22-10 at halftime, through tries by Berne, Lyons and skipper Chris Whitaker, but fears mounted they could collapse after Hurricanes skipper Tana Umaga was gifted a try four minutes into the second half after a mix-up between NSW fullback Cameron Shepherd and winger Scott Staniforth.

But the Waratahs retained their composure and 10 minutes into the second half, struck back to again extend the lead.

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