All-Bok midfield excites Fleck
It will be the first time co-captain Juan de Jongh and Damian de Allende will start together this season.
The latter made his first start last week in the 40-22 win over the Reds after having appearances off the bench against the Sunwolves and Lions after returning from injury.
De Jongh was due to start in the Reds match as well, but was ruled out with a mild concussion.
The duo now have the chance to finally build on their combination, starting against a strong-looking Tahs' side.
"In the beginning of the season that was our first-choice midfield," said Fleck.
"It is good to have them together, but take nothing away from Johnny [Kotze] and company. They have done well, but it’s nice to have Juan and Damian back in the mix together.
Juan, who played in the No.12 jersey since the start his team's campaign, moves to outside centre in place of Kotze. Fleck believes that having both De Jongh and De Allende in the team will bring more balance to the backline.
"It solidifies that midfield a little bit and brings leadership in the backline.
"I feel that Juan has been on his own for some time in terms of having leaders around him, so it's nice to have two experienced players in the midfield for the first time this season," said Fleck.
Both players can be explosive with ball in hand, but De Jongh believes the duo will be roaming around the park and not be limited to their midfield roles.
"It is going to be an interesting challenge this weekend," said De Jongh. "It's my first game with Damian so we are still in a building phase.
"We are not too worried about them [Beale and Folau] because we know they [Waratahs] move their players around in different areas. It's not so much about the midfield going against each other, its more about backline against backline. They have very skillful players and I am looking forward to the match."
While the Waratahs have not been that impressive this year like seasons past, Fleck is cautious to not let his team get too overconfident ahead of the encounter.
"The Waratahs are a team that have found a bit of form recently," said Fleck. "They had a slow start to their campaign, but they always had quality coaching and quality players and it was just a matter of time before they find their feet again.
"They found a bit of rhythm again against the Force. They got big, physical players and they got a lot of Test players in that side, which is mixed with some youngsters.
"Physically it's going to be a big challenge for us."
By Warren Fortune
@FortuneWarren
@rugby365com