The ACT Brumbies will put Super Rugby ambition ahead of World Cup dreams on Sunday, with prop Ben Alexander declaring the players have nothing to prove to NSW Waratahs and Wallabies coach Michael Cheika.
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But the Brumbies will resist the temptation to inject David Pocock into the starting line-up with the former Wallabies skipper expected to make his comeback from the bench in the Australian derby in Sydney.
The Brumbies will play the Waratahs in what looms as a Wallabies selection battle in almost every position, with Cheika getting the perfect chance to see World Cup hopefuls go head to head.
Pocock is set to be eased back into action after recovering from an ankle injury, delaying his anticipated match-up with incumbent Test captain Michael Hooper in a duel of the openside flankers.
Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham is putting his faith in the team that sits at the top of the Australian conference, sticking with a winning formula for the Waratahs match.
And Alexander – Australia's most capped Wallabies prop – says Test aspirations will be cast aside as the Brumbies battle for crucial Super Rugby points.
"We just want to win ... by no means are blokes going out there to prove something to Cheika," Alexander said.
"Blokes are just going out there to do their job and the selection stuff will just take care of itself. If you're trying to impress someone, you lose track of what the team needs you to do."
Larkham is set to name an unchanged starting side for the round-six match, putting confidence in back-row partners Ita Vaea and Jarrad Butler to retain their spots for Pocock's return game.
Pocock has played just six games since the start of 2013 after two knee reconstructions and then injuring his ankle in the first round of the season.
Alexander has scored three tries in the past two weeks to be the unexpected leading Australian try-scorer this season.
His ability to get across the line has taken a toll on his wallet, with the Kingston Foreshore bar he part owns with teammate Scott Fardy, The Dock, giving away free drinks every time he scores.
The Brumbies forwards have almost outscored their star-studded back line in five games this season, including four tries to the big men in a 29-0 win against the Queensland Reds last weekend.
forwards were happy to reverse the try-scoring trend if it meant beating arch rivals
"You've got to practise all aspects of the game ... you've got to make sure you've got a plan B and you come in with a balanced approach," Alexander said.
"We're going to get a major test in all areas this weekend, especially in physicality. We don't care who scores, as long as the team is winning.
"I've got to keep working on scrummaging, my leg drive and physicality. This weekend will be the best test to see whether our physicality is up to scratch."
There's an all-Wallabies battle in the front-row contest between the Brumbies and the Waratahs, with all six vying for a spot in Cheika's World Cup squad.
The Brumbies' scrum demolished the Queensland Reds last weekend, but the Waratahs – led by Sekope Kepu, Tatafu Polota-Nau and Benn Robinson – present a different challenge for Alexander, Stephen Moore and Scott Sio.
"It's going to be one of our biggest tests this year," Sio said. "They're the champions of last year ... the front row is one of the few positions where you get a one on one battle. Scrum ... that's what we get paid to do. We've got to win that battle.
"Last year we fell off as a pack consistently. My No.1 goal is to make sure we're creating that aura of the scrum and that we're bringing it."
SUPER RUGBY ROUND SIX
Sunday: NSW Waratahs v ACT Brumbies at Allianz Stadium, 4.05pm. TV time: Live on Fox Sports 2.
