Stormers coach Alan Solomons is taking comfort from the fact that the Waratahs' more attacking 15-man game will suit his team's style of play more than that of the Cats.

After their home defeat against the Cats on Saturday, the Stormers have another huge task ahead of them when they take on the impressive Waratahs in the first game of their overseas tour in Sydney on Sunday.

With Bob Dwyer back at the helm, the Waratahs have undergone a transformation. In their 42-23 victory over the Chiefs there were no signs of the battling, under-performing also-rans of last year.

Solomons acknowledged the improvement in the Sydney-based side's game, but reckons the fact that they play a more open, 15-man game than their conquerors on Saturday will suit his side.

"I thought they played very, very well. They looked a very good side. They were not really troubled by the Chiefs and they have some very good young players," Solomons said of the Waratahs performance.

"David Lyons and Phil Waugh were already good last year and they had a year to mature. I thought Manny Edmonds had a particularly good game.

"We are going to have a tough game, but they play more our style of rugby. The Australians and New Zealanders don't play the percentages some of our teams tend to play and that will suit us more."

The coach knows it's going to take character from his side to get up after the crushing home defeat. However, he believes they have shown before they have what it takes to fight back from an early setback.

"I believe this side has always shown a lot of character and we saw it in the 1999 tournament, when we won our first two games and lost the next two. Then we picked it up against the Waratahs," he commented.

"Last year we were down and out when we left on our tour after having won just one out of four. We went on to win two out of four on tour. So I think we've shown character and there is also a very strong spirit in the side.

"We have to keep our heads up. It's hell of a long tournament and it doesn't get won or lost in the opening fixture of the round robin."

The Stormers arrived in Sydney on Monday. Solomons has a few selection issues to mull over before he announces his line-up, probably on Wednesday or Thursday.

The burning question at the moment is who should replace the injured centre De Wet Barry. Werner Greeff has taken Barry's place in the touring party, but he is not a serious contender for the starting line-up.

The obvious move would be to include Chris Rossouw at flyhalf and shift Braam van Straaten to inside centre. Van Straaten's kicking boot is vital to the Stormers' campaign. He showed in the Western Province Currie Cup team last year that he's quite capable of playing at inside centre.

Rossouw is an exciting attacking flyhalf whose ability to time his pass to perfection and his eye for a gap played an important role in WP's march to the Currie Cup last year. He has the ability to do the same at Super 12 level, although it will take him a while to get used to the quicker pace and the higher intensity.

The other option for Solomons is to give the promising Stuart Abbott a start at inside centre and retain Van Straaten at flyhalf. Abbott was originally on the bench for the Cats game, but had to withdraw due to a calf injury. The former Griffon is a classy player who is destined for bigger things, but Solomons would probably prefer to ease him in from the bench.

Stormers touring squad:
Backs: Stuart Abbott, John Daniels, Neil de Kock, Robbie Fleck, Werner Greeff, Robert Markram, Percy Montgomery, Breyton Paulse, Chris Rossouw, Pieter Rossouw, Braam van Straaten, Dan van Zyl.
Forwards: Adri Badenhorst, Rob Brink, Quinton Davids, Pieter Dixon, Pietie Ferreira, Hendrik Gerber, Robbie Kempson, Corne Krige (capt), Hottie Louw, Charl Marais, Faan Rautenbach, Chean Roux, Lawrence Sephaka, Bob Skinstad, John Slade, Morne van der Merwe.