The NSW Waratahs will head into their first Super Rugby trial on Friday with a new mentality and briefed on all the latest law amendments.
The Tahs will play the Highlanders on Friday in Queenstown, where they start their campaign to show they are a vastly better squad to the one who went 4-11 last year.
Acting captain for Friday's game, hooker Damien Fitzpatrick, said the Waratahs had learnt from their 2017 campaign.
"The way the guys have trained, the focus and the preparation we've got, you can see there's a different mentality in what the players are doing," Fitzpatrick said.
"We just want to perform at our best. That's the one thing we felt last year that clearly we didn't live up to our potential particularly for our fans.
"We understand that everyone is hurting."
The Tahs go into Friday's game with a better understanding of some minor law changes after having a session on Wednesday with top Australian referee Angus Gardner.
Fitzpatrick said fans shouldn't notice any major changes to the game, provided the players followed the new rules.
"In the dark world of scrummaging, the laws change so frequently," Fitzpatrick said.
"This year, there's been some new laws brought in that Gus (Gardner) has relayed to the entire group.
"It was really important for him to go out and have a look at our scrummaging session to make sure that we're on the right track to play the game legally."
Fitzpatrick praised the input of new forwards coach Simon Cron.
"He's been fantastic, he's an absolute Energizer bunny and he's a big rugby nerd," he said.
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