NSW Waratahs halfback Brendan McKibbin not about to give up starting spot easily Waratahs halfback Brendan McKibbin put in his finest performance of the season so far in Sunday's win over the Western Force. THREATS to his position are coming from outside and within, but Waratahs halfback Brendan McKibbin has made clear he won't be relinquishing his spot easily. McKibbin, who is contracted to NSW for next year, learned recently that coach Michael Cheika had recruited incumbent Wallabies halfback Nick Phipps from Melbourne for 2014-15. Add to that, he has stiff competition this season from NSW back-up Matt Lucas - who made an impressive cameo off the bench last Sunday week - while the talented Grayson Hart is the third halfback in the Tahs squad. McKibbin could have felt as though the walls were closing in but instead he produced his finest game of the season on Sunday against the Western Force, and has brushed off Phipps' impending arrival. "I set myself individual goals, and one of those individual goals isn't to play the best I can because Nick Phipps from the Melbourne Rebels is coming to the Waratahs next year," McKibbin said yesterday. I can only worry about my role, and pushing (Lucas and Hart) along with them pushing myself. Worrying about Nick Phipps coming next year, if I worry about that, then my head is not in the right space. He is playing for the Rebels, who aren't doing too well, and I'm worrying about the Waratahs this year. Asked if he felt ownership of the NSW No.9 jersey, McKibbin replied: "When I'm on the field, definitely. I've said to myself that I want to keep pushing, I'm not going to be happy with myself if I'm not in that No.9 jersey, as are the others. The 27-year-old, who played all 80 minutes against Force despite Lucas's impressive claims the week prior, did not want to get carried away with his fine outing. "If I ever get happy with a game I'm going to hang up the boots, that's for sure," McKibbin said. The Waratahs claimed back-to-back wins for the first time since last April by defeating Force 23-19, and will be buoyed by the return of powerhouse back-rower Wycliff Palu when they travel to Wellington to face the Hurricanes on Saturday. "Physically it's a big bonus, and mentally a great bonus for the side as well," he said. The Hurricanes have threats across the park so if we start to pile too many guys into the breakdown, we're going to get caught out there. We've been reasonably good at it where we identified when the breakdown was a lost cause and our blokes got into the line.