Foley in, Horne out of Waratahs side
Initially, head coach Daryl Gibson had the luxury of welcoming another Wallabies star Rob Horne, but following their afternoon's field session the centre, Horne was ruled out of the playing 23.
Forcing Gibson to shuffle the back line with Israel Folau moving back to outside centre and Bryce Hegarty stepping into the fullback position; Irae Simone will slot into the number 22 jersey.
The return of the Foley is not the only change to the NSW Waratahs starting line-up, with impressive form from wing Taqele Naiyaravoro seeing him get a start this Friday.
Cam Clark moves onto the wing with Michael Wells starting at No.8 and Paddy Ryan in at loosehead prop.
Tom Robertson was suffered a knock on Sunday which ruled him out of Friday’s clash.
Gibson said Foley’s symptoms of a concussion from the injury six weeks ago have resolved and other symptoms related to his neck are also improving, with ongoing treatment of his neck.
"Bernard has been given the clearance after further expert reviews, including a review with the neurologist, and treatment over the course of the last week.
"Having the experience of Bernard back in the team will hopefully give our side a boost ahead of the game," said Gibson.
Waratahs: 15 Bryce Hegarty, 14 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 13 Israel Folau, 12 David Horwitz, 11 Cam Clark, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Michael Wells, 7 Michael Hooper (captain), 6 Ned Hanigan, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Paddy Ryan.
Replacement: 16 Damien Fitzpatrick, 17 Sam Needs, 18 David Lolohea, 19 David McDuling, 20 Jed Holloway, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Irae Simone, 23 Andrew Kellaway
Date: Friday, April 7
Venue: Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Kick-off: 19.35 (17.35 AEST; 07.45 GMT)
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Shuhei Kubo (Japan), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO: Glen Newman (New Zealand)
@NSWWaratahs
