Lima Sopoaga starred with 16 of the Highlanders' points against the Chiefs in Dunedin © Getty Images

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Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph has named an unchanged squad to face Super Rugby leaders New South Wales Waratahs at ANZ Stadium in Sydney on Sunday.

The Highlanders are fourth on the ladder with two rounds to go, with the same number of competition points as New Zealand conference leaders the Crusaders, as they seek to end their 12-year play-offs drought, but they have won only twice in Sydney, in 2004 and 2007, and just four of 15 matches against the Waratahs. Joseph is unfazed by that history, which shows they have also won only one of 13 Super Rugby matches in Australia since 2008.

"We are not too concerned with how we have gone against the Waratahs in the past, and our entire focus is on what we can do on Sunday," Joseph said. "There is a real air of excitement about the group. They sense the opportunity we have earned for ourselves."

Highlanders prop Kane Hames, one of the finds of the campaign in his debut season, has another take on the team's history against the Tahs.

"They're not a bogey team to me because I haven't played them in a competition match before," he said. "You could also say the play-offs are a bogey to us because we haven't made them since 2002, but this is a new team and there is a belief we can do it."

That is not to say Hames does not respect the table-topping Waratahs, who demolished the Brumbies 39-8 last week. "I expect to be marking Sekope Kefu and he's pretty good," he said. "It's virtually a Wallaby front-row with him, Benn Robinson and Tatafu Polota-Nau."

Hames has played in all but one of the Highlanders' 14 matches, and, although only 113kg, he gave 137kg Chiefs tight-head prop Ben Tameifuna a working over in the 29-25 victory in Dunedin last weekend. "Belief and hard work can move mountains," he said with a grin.

Hames said the tough conditioning work he had done with injured lock Brad Thorn had paid off. "He always reminds me of the need for high work-rate and physicality as well as scrummaging. I love having high tackle numbers and hitting rucks."

Highlanders: Ben Smith (co-captain); Richard Buckman, Malakai Fekitoa, Shaun Treeby, Patrick Osborne: Lima Sopoaga, Aaron Smith; Nasi Manu (co-captain), Shane Christie, Elliot Dixon; Joe Wheeler, Tom Franklin; Ma'afu Fia, Brayden Mitchell, Kane Hames. Replacements: Ged Robinson, Matias Diaz, Chris King, Josh Bekhuis, Lee Allan, Fumiaki Tanaka, Hayden Parker, Phil Burleigh.