Once bitten, don't be twice shy - that was the message from Waratahs coach Michael Cheika after his side returned to their attacking best in Friday night's win over Melbourne Rebels.

And there was special mention for inside-centre Kurtley Beale, who lost little confidence despite a disastrous chip-and-chase attempt that resulted in one final insult for the Waratahs in their shock opening-round defeat to Western Force.

It was a different story on Friday night at AAMI Park however where Beale, and many of his Waratahs teammates, rediscovered their attacking mojo in a physical 38-28 victory over a determined Rebels outfit.

"The natural tendency if you get beat, and bad, is to shrink," Cheika said after Friday night's triumph. "But we like to think we're a team that does the opposite of what everyone might do, so we'll go out there and try and play a bit more."

Play a bit more they did, the 2014 Super Rugby champions scoring four tries in a 10-point win that was only sealed with a try to Beale six minutes from full-time. But it was an assist that most impressed Cheika, the inside-centre again opting for his signature chip-and-chase move which, this time, came off.

Kurtley Beale was one of the Waratahs' best in Melbourne © Getty Images

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"Maybe we'll bash him over the head in all the games; get him off and come back on," Cheika joked when asked about Beale's impressive return after an early concussion assessment.

"No he was, actually, that's unfair because he started the game well, too. I think he made the correct assessment. Last week, he put in a brutal chip over the top, the guy (Western Force's Francois van Wyk) caught it and scored when it (the chip) was never on. This week, we had the advantage, he saw that they were playing everyone up in the line, read the game, chipped over; that's the right play there."

Cheika said he was happy for his players to back their individual skills, as long as they were practiced at training. "As long as we prepare for it; he can do that if he's practiced it, and practiced it," Cheika said when pressed on Beale's play. "And he does practice those things; when he does it in the right shape and the right support play.

"So even the one against Perth (Western Force), even if he catches that he probably gets tackled anyway because no-one else knows it's on. But this time he gets it because Hoilesy (Stephen Hoiles) is in the right shape inside him. So he knows if he gets it back he's got an offload straight inside because they're always going to have a fullback back there."

The Waratahs were forced to call on a number of replacements, including an entirely new front row, on Friday night after the Rebels came out looking to rattle the defending champions physically. Cheika paid tribute to his bench for their efforts, and backed the entire squad to maintain the club's attacking ethos - no matter what situation the game was in.

"I think a really symbolic moment, we talked about it before, Sam Lousi, I think it's his third game of rugby ever, comes on in a pressure cooker and is able to put a bit of a move on and flick passes back inside," Cheika said. "But he practices that; he does it at training and he backs himself - he didn't shrink. And I want the team to back themselves, and sometimes we'll fail doing that but that's the way we play. As long as we're prepared and practice, and keep running at the opposition. And they (the Rebels) put a very stiff challenge to us tonight."