Champion flanker George Smith will return to the Brumbies starting side for their knock-out Super Rugby qualifying final against the Cheetahs on Sunday.
Smith played just 30 minutes off the bench in his side's disappointing 21-15 loss to the Western Force on Saturday, replacement No.7 Colby Faingaa shouldering the load just a week after the legendary flanker played his 111th Test for the Wallabies against the British and Irish Lions.
Brumbies coach Jake White said while he didn't want to give away his whole team five days out from the qualifying final, Smith was the obvious change to the starting line-up at Canberra Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
"One hundred per cent," White said on Tuesday.
"For me now it's about picking a team that can win the competition.
"George has all that experience, has played in play-offs and won the competition before.
"Any bit of advantage we can get going into this knockout stage of the competition is going to be vital."
White added that halfback Nic White would undergo a fitness test later in the week for the collarbone he fractured against the Rebels in round 17.
"All things being equal he should be ready to go and if he's 90 per cent, look this is a play off game and we've got to pick the best team," White said.
While Saturday's loss to the Force potentially cost the Brumbies a top two finals spot, they've suffered back-to-back losses just twice since White took over the coaching reins in 2012.
Prop Ben Alexander on Tuesday was confident his side would bounce back for their first finals game in nine years to take on a Cheetahs outfit undefeated against Australian teams this year.
"While we've had our combinations embedded throughout the whole year it was still our first hit-out as a group since the boys played the Lions, so there was a few cobwebs," Alexander said.
"There's definitely some thinking that if we came in the top two we would've had another week off so I think it's good that we're getting straight onto the field and playing again."
Meanwhile, the Brumbies have been sent a tough provisional 2014 Super Rugby draw that won't see them play this year's two bottom placed sides the Highlanders and the Kings (or Lions), while also having a two week tour against South Africa's top ranked sides the Bulls and the Cheetahs.
However White on Tuesday said he wasn't concerned by the draw, stating that just because a team had a poor season one year didn't mean they wouldn't have a stellar season the next, and vice versa.
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