NSW Waratahs wary of Western Force - Sydney Morning Herald

AAP

The NSW Waratahs will be out to avoid another Western Force Super Rugby ambush when they come up against their former coach Michael Foley on Sunday.

The Waratahs revived their finals hopes and moved to within three points of the top six with their last-gasp 30-27 home victory over the Blues on Sunday as their new ball-in-hand style finally paid dividends.

But they will be wary of what lies in store in a second consecutive Sunday afternoon game at Allianz Stadium when they meet Foley's Western Force.

The Force have a 1-4 record this season, but they've been highly competitive and their one win was a recent impressive away upset of the Queensland Reds.

And the Tahs need no reminding that they were ambushed by the Force in the corresponding Australian derby last year in Sydney.

Throw in the Foley factor, up against the team he guided for one very lean season last year before quitting and heading west, and it makes for a spicy all-Australian clash.

Sunday's stoppage-time success wasn't quite enough to convince Waratahs skipper Dave Dennis that his team had turned the corner after just one win from their previous 12 outings.

"I wouldn't say it's a turning point. It definitely gives the boys a bit more belief in what we're doing," Dennis said of the win over the Blues.

"But this result is irrelevant if we come out next Sunday and don't perform.

"There's still parts of our game - the set-piece was a bit disappointing again.

"But when we do get it right, like when we scored that first-phase try off a set-piece, which is two weeks in a row now, there's some good stuff.

"So we've got to stay focused for the full game and it's an important week again. The Force are going to be another challenge and we've got to perform better again."

Dennis said scoring three tries, and several other near-misses, was evidence that the Waratahs were finally starting to adapt to coach Michael Cheika's ball-in-hand style.

"When we stuck to our structure and how we want to play, we got some good results," he said.

"And that's against a quality team so that will help with any doubts we've had over it, if there were any."

The Waratahs haven't won back-to-back since last April and they will likely need to do so without halfback Brendan McKibbin.

McKibbin hurt his AC joint in a damaging tackle from Blues centre Rene Ranger and faces a race against the clock to be fit to take on the Force.