Tahs lose Barnes for six weeks Berrick Barnes: Sitting this one out. Any continuity the Waratahs hoped to build in their back line has been dashed by news Berrick Barnes will miss at least five or six weeks with a dislocated thumb. Coach Michael Cheika confirmed the Waratahs' most experienced playmaker would undergo surgery on Wednesday on the carpometacarpal joint connecting his wrist with his thumb after injuring it early in the Waratahs' one-point loss to the Cheetahs last week. Barnes was to be a key component in the Waratahs midfield going forward, giving the back line much-needed leadership as well as the option of having two or three playmakers on the field at any one time. "It's a loss, obviously," Cheika said. When we do want to play with two playmakers, we'll probably have two young playmakers in [Bernard] Foley and [Ben] Volavola. But that's the way it sometimes happens, and it's given them the opportunity to get time under their belt so that they can deliver the type of game we want. This is not a good week for the Waratahs to lose a player as experienced as Barnes. The Blues are coming off a bye and, before losing to the Bulls in Auckland, had trampled both the Crusaders and Hurricanes in their first season under former Japan coach John Kirwan. They have proved expert counter-attackers, a dangerous proposition for a team as prone to turnovers as the Waratahs are proving this season. Cheika dismissed questions about whether the team would try a more direct game on Sunday to minimise the Blues' opportunities. We're not going to blink about what people might say about us, we're going to stick the course, because I know it's the right way to go. Test hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau and No.8 Wycliff Palu are on the injured list but are possibilities to return against the Force next week. Cheika was pleased with the performance of Rob Horne and signalled the Test centre could start at No.12 in Barnes's absence, partnering with Adam Ashley-Cooper in the midfield. Horne has played almost all his representative football at outside centre but was earmarked for transition to No.12 early in the pre-season by Waratahs attack coach Daryl Gibson. Cheika also tagged winger Peter Betham, prop Paddy Ryan and back-rower Pat McCutcheon as players who performed well enough to retain their starting spots against the Blues. Ryan put his hands on the ball pretty well and took his opportunities. There's still big areas of the game he can improve, off the ball in particular," Cheika said. [Betham] showed a lot of really good moments in the game. McCutcheon [came] into the team after a long, long lay-off, topped the tackle count for us. He's working hard, and he's coming back and going to be of big benefit to us. Ashley-Cooper, a vice-captain and now the most experienced member of the Waratahs back line, said leadership had been a problem for the Waratahs. The leadership we're looking for is from everyone. Everyone has the responsibility of taking on that leadership role," he said. It's not necessarily [captain] Dave Dennis addressing the group before we run out. It's more about the communication and the demand of the performance and the execution from players around you. With almost 100 Super Rugby and 77 Test caps under his belt, Ashley-Cooper had never been asked to perform an official leadership role within the team until Dennis asked him to be his vice-captain earlier this year. It's probably something I'm still developing, that leadership and senior player responsibility role, demanding more of the blokes around me. That's something I think I can demand more of others to do as well.