Waratahs captain Dave Dennis puts challenge out to ACT Brumbies ahead of clash

WARATAHS captain Dave Dennis has ramped up the pressure on Super Rugby leaders the Brumbies.

Scott-Sio

WARATAHS captain Dave Dennis has ramped up the pressure on Super Rugby leaders the Brumbies, declaring there is no chance they will be allowed to dictate tonight's game as they did in Canberra during their previous encounter.

If the Brumbies hope to extend their run at the top of the table, they must dominate at ANZ Stadium in a similar fashion to their 35-6 clinic in round four against a developing Waratahs outfit, but Dennis said his team will not be lying down again as they did in March.

"There was a definite difference between how they were playing and how we were playing, they had the beauty of playing similarly the year before," Dennis said of their previous match.

"They came into this year with a clear idea of how they wanted to play, and with a history of playing that type of game.

"I felt that night we were probably a bit lost, and we let them dictate the game and they got a strong result.

"(Tonight) is not going to be like that I think. We're not going to let them dictate how they want to play."

Since that match the Brumbies have managed to accumulate enough points to remain the competition's No.1 side but their form has been erratic, going win, loss, win, draw, win, draw, win, loss.

In that same period NSW have won five and lost three, and Dennis believes coach Michael Cheika's prediction that it would take at least three months for the players to fully comprehend the team's new style is spot on.

"I think he's been accurate in a lot of the things he's said this year and maybe the boys didn't believe that, maybe in a sense, they believed it would happen a bit quicker, that we'd get results sooner," Dennis said.

"But I feel as though in the last month we've grasped how we want to play and you've probably seen that with the results.

"I felt in that game down in Canberra we were a team of 15 guys who weren't quite sure what we were doing, weren't quite confident in how we wanted to play.

"Whereas now, every time we're on the pitch I genuinely feel as though there are 15 guy who, one, know what's going on, and two, know that what we're doing is working."

And it appears the Waratahs fans are slowly returning, with the biggest crowd of the season expected tonight following record low attendances to start the year.

"There is a level of trying to earn a bit of respect back, mainly from our fans," Dennis said.

"People forget that we have a strong history from 2005-2011, I think we made two finals and four finals series. Those years are forgotten, and that's fine, that is how people think.

"But I think we're moving the footy club back towards reconnecting with the community."