You can forget about the games against the Reds and the Brumbies over the past two weeks - in terms of the season, the Waratahs' game against the Force at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday is a far bigger match.
Waratah is fifth on the Super Rugby Pacific ladder and Force is sixth. However, those standings are highly misleading, as the runway is shortening before the Australian side faces opposition from New Zealand. This is actually the points accumulation phase of the competition for Australian sides, especially Waratah and Force.
Even before the season began, it looked like Waratah and Force would be in a fight for eighth place on the overall ladder, the last in the final. However, that picture has become quite hazy due to better-than-expected performances by Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifica.
The latter can still be undone by being part of the New Zealand side of the draw (they have to play the Blues and Chiefs twice), but they showed such a promise against the Crusaders last week that you won't knock them out of the final. picture completely.
Meanwhile, Drua will take a lot of confidence from defeating the Rebels last weekend, and they will get another crack at Waratah in the seventh round.
Looking ahead, permutations are plentiful, but the conclusion is simple: the margin of error is small for teams in the fight for the lower final berth. Which is why the Vorahos have some reason to be a little concerned when they look at elements of the damage done to the Brumbies last week, despite taking pride in their efforts.
In particular, there were three instances of what he did on both sides of the ball - after a line break.
Everyone can immediately miss two chances after the big break by Gun midfielder Ijaya Perez and mustache No 7 Charlie Gamble. These were disappointing incidents, where the skills of the players under pressure were not up to standard, and they seemed a bit disorganized.
But the Brumbies trying to lock down Nick Frost, after a breach of the Waratahs by Rob Valletini, deserves the same attention.
Right off the bat, let's give credit to the Brumbies. They are well drilled and you can see their players click into second gear after the line break. They get excited because they have practiced it so many times that there is a collective belief that if each player plays their part, an effort is coming.
That said, it was not necessary that the Brumbies were at their thinnest after Valletini's break, with two wide passes going to winger Tom Wright on the right bank, who then had to cut back inside and set up the next leg. Had to contact.
From there, Nick White regrouped him and threw a pass back infield into a forward pod, which swung the ball overhead. But at this point the varahs were already done. His forward was coming back a touch slower, leaving him vulnerable to a heads-up play by Frost, who picked up and charged the ball from the base of the ruck in the next leg.
I don't think Frost's game was part of the plan. In fact, White was about to get on the ruck and was already looking back on his short side, and Waratah defenders Will Harris and Ben Donaldson were certainly expecting him to go that way.
However, Frost simply could not ignore the lack of defenders on the ruck and took a relatively easy five points.
This does not mean that there is anything fundamentally wrong with the Varahas. But, when you combine this with the back end of the Reds game, where Brad Thorne's side was very dominant after coming in behind the Waratahs, this is one area that has the potential to really disappoint the Waratahs this year.
Here, Michael Hooper's absence is painfully obvious. The Wallabies captain is one of the best melee defenders in world rugby, but the Waratahs will have to live without him for a while. All sides accept the line break, but the Waratahs are still not showing the brutal mentality that the better teams show.
Near the Brumbies. The Reds have it. The Varahas, starting on Sunday, need to find it.