Waratahs using Stormers victory to instil belief they can break drought against Crusaders in Christchurch

Waratahs prop Angus Ta'avao says a match-winning scrum three weeks ago against the Stormers in Cape Town has given NSW the confidence they can win in Christchurch against the Crusaders and break a 12-year drought there.

With their season on the line and trailing the Stormers with minutes remaining in their round 10 clash, a determined front-row combination of Jeremy Tilse, Tatafu Polota-Nau and Ta'avao packed into the scrum. They orchestrated a turnover – a rarity for the Waratahs pack this year - and shortly after captain Michael Hooper scored the match-winning try at one of the toughest venues of Super Rugby.

Since then the Waratahs have beaten another two other South African teams, and it was that scrum in Cape Town which may have been the turning point of their season. 

Belief: Waratahs front-rower Angus Ta'avao has taken a lot of confidence out of an earlier win. Photo: Getty Images

It has instilled a belief they can win anywhere, even if it is against the table-topping Crusaders in their own backyard.

"It was pretty massive," said Ta'avao of that particular scrum. "They had just scored before and our season was pretty much riding on it to get the win. Africa is a hard place, let alone the Stormers. We all turned around and looked at each other and said: 'This is our time to go. If we've got any time to do anything, it's our time to prove ourselves'.

"It was a pretty good feeling, and I think it's done a lot for our confidence."

Tilse, who does not get the same praise as some of the other NSW forwards, agreed that it was huge in the context of Waratahs season.

"I said to Dave Dennis that was one of my best scrums of my career," Tilse said. "The whole situation we were in; we were down, we turned the scrum over on their line at that stadium in Newlands, I really enjoyed it. It's very hard to get the wins over there. We can take a lot of confidence out of it going forward." 

NSW have made three changes to their team from last week against the Bulls, with David Horwitz a confirmed starter at inside centre to replace the injured Kurtley Beale.

Jed Holloway has also returned from injury and will take Wycliff Palu's spot at No.8, while former All Blacks winger Zac Guildford joins a strong bench that will travel to Christchurch.

The last time NSW won there was in 2004, a 43-19 victory that Ta'avao believes can be replicated given their sparkling form of late.

"We've come a long way and we feel it's like a litmus test," Ta'avao said. "To go down there and come away with the win is pretty rare, but it's a massive challenge. If you go there and you think it's a hard place to win, you've ​probably already lost. We've still got a lot of belief."