Having grown up on the northern end of Sydney’s Northern Beaches, promising Warringah and newly signed Waratahs backrower Ned Slack-Smith never thought he’d play against Warringah at Rat Park.

If fact, the thought of ever lining up against his beloved Ratties made him sick to the bone.

But Slack-Smith will need to overcome that when he runs out from the away sheds this Saturday, as part of a NSW Waratahs team set to play Warringah and Manly’s Shute Shield sides in the Tahs’ final Super Rugby trial.

“I think I’ll get away with it this time, but it’s not something I want to do again,” Slack-Smith joked during the week.