Stephen Hoiles has 114 Super Rugby matches worth of experience to call upon © Getty Images

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New South Wales Waratahs coach Michael Cheika has taken the "conservative" option in asking veteran back-rower Stephen Hoiles to replaced injured captain Dave Dennis.

Cheika had several options at his disposal with Dennis booked in for season-ending knee surgery, including moving Jacques Potgieter to the back-row and starting Wallabies sensation Will Skelton at lock; he could also have drafted lineout ace Mitch Chapman into the second-row and handed Potgieter Dennis's No.6 jumper, but just hours after indicating otherwise he banked on the former Brumbies captain with 114 Super Rugby caps to his name to play blindside flanker as the Waratahs look to clinch a precious home semi-final with victory over the Highlanders at ANZ Stadium in Sydney on Sunday. Cheika, though, did qualify his selection with the promise he'd likely shuffle the pack again for the final-round showdown with Queensland Reds.

"The conservative thing to do is put Stephen straight in," Cheika said of Hoiles' promotion four months after reviving the 32-year-old's career once the one-time Wallabies back-rower had made a desperate last-ditch trip to Sweden for radical surgery to repair a chronic Achilles tendon injury.

"He's done it before.

"But I think we've shown in the past that we're looking to be far from conservative and we're looking to be more progressive in what we do.

"My experience tells me at this end of the season that if you try to hang in there and stay at the same standard, you'll fail. You've got to keep progressing and keep moving forward, evolving your game to give the opposition different things to deal with."

The Waratahs are unbeaten at home this season, but Cheika insists the fourth-placed Highlanders are well capable of crashing the party to leave his side under pressure to topple Queensland Reds in Brisbane to claim the top-two finish that ensures a home semi-final. The Tahs at present are guaranteed only a home elimination final.

"They're equal top of the New Zealand conference," Cheika said of the Highlanders.

"And that's no mean feat because that's a very, very strong conference. You can see by the way all their teams are in contention. They have great attacking power and they're hard workers. What we've got to do is make sure we give them plenty to deal with so we can take their minds off their own game."

Waratahs: Israel Folau; Alofa Alofa, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Kurtley Beale, Rob Horne; Bernard Foley, Nick Phipps; Wycliff Palu, Michael Hooper (captain), Stephen Hoiles; Kane Dougles, Jacques Potgieter; Sekope Kepu, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Benn Robinson. Replacements: Tolu Latu, Jeremy Tilse, Paddy Ryan, Will Skelton, Mitch Chapman, Pat McCutcheon, Brendan McKibbin, Jono Lance, Taqele Naiyaravoro, Cam Crawford (two to be omitted).