Tahs find skills to make good on adventure, says Larkham "They're a different team now, they?re playing with a lot more confidence": Former Wallaby Stephen Larkham. The Waratahs are a different team to the one that fell startlingly short against the Brumbies in round four. Brumbies backs coach and former Wallabies great Stephen Larkham said NSW had finally acquired the skills to match the "adventurous" game plan they adopted under new coach Michael Cheika. They're a different team now, they're playing with a lot more confidence. They failed miserably in their first attempt, going down 35-6 in Canberra in March, but Larkham believes recent wins against the Chiefs and Stormers show they are a changed and dangerous side. It's all coming together for them now. They started the season with quite an adventurous game plan and I think it's taken a little while for the skill to catch up to it," he said. But I think it's certainly caught up now, they're a very dangerous attacking side from all areas of the field and they have the skill base now to play that style. Cheika was a frustrated character after what he called a less than perfect training session at The King's School in Parramatta on Tuesday, reluctant to talk up the team's development since that sobering night two months ago. But Larkham said that performance was of less use to the Brumbies' preparation than the Waratahs' most recent victory against the Stormers, which was won 21-15 in the final few minutes. "They're a different team now, they're playing with a lot more confidence and things are coming off ... we'll be going into this game a lot different to the way we went into the last game, with slightly different tactics and an awareness of the strengths the Waratahs have," he said. Attention this weekend will be on some individual match-ups as well as the competition implications of the derby, which could see the Waratahs narrow the gap on rivals the Reds and Brumbies. On top of the battle between openside flankers Michael Hooper and George Smith, who appear to be vying for the starting Test No.7 jersey next month, fullbacks Israel Folau and Jesse Mogg will attract attention. But while Hooper and Smith are proven Test performers, neither Folau nor Mogg have worn the gold jersey. Their performances within the wider battle on Saturday will be closely watched by Wallabies selectors, who announce their initial 25-man squad the next day. "Potentially [Wallabies selection] will be in the back of some players' minds but we've made it clear here at the Brumbies that if the Brumbies do well then players will get picked for the Wallabies and that it's not necessarily individuals who play well," Larkham said. In the past it's probably been the opposite for the Waratahs. If as an individual you play well you probably got picked for the Wallabies. While undoubtedly biased towards his own player, Larkham acknowledged the skills of Waratahs fullback Folau before calling Mogg a "more natural fullback." "[Mogg] knows where to be, his instincts are good at fullback, so positionally he probably understands the game a bit better," he said. Both have very good attacking qualities. Israel has a very good fend, very good feet and has a good offload, while Jesse has out-and-out speed and the ability to beat a man one-on-one quite easily. Folau played State of Origin and Test football during his time in rugby league, experience that will stand him in good stead if given a chance against the British and Irish Lions. Mogg has only played Super Rugby and only put two hands on the starting No.15 jersey at the Brumbies after teammate Robbie Coleman was injured at the beginning of last year. But Larkham believes his charge has the strength to enter the Test fray. We've seen massive improvement over the last 12 months but his ability to prepare and know what he's coming up against and to know exactly what he has to do, is outstanding. I guess he's only really been tested at Super Rugby level but I think he steps up consistently week in, week out there.