Playmaker Kurtley Beale says his NSW Waratahs are still a little rusty in attack, a week before they start their Super Rugby title defence.

A near Test strength team with 13 internationals in their run on side on Friday, held on to a 38-36 win over a Chiefs combination missing seven All Blacks.

Most of the Waratahs stars were having their first run of the season and the frantic fast paced game proved ideal in getting their fitness up to speed for Sunday week’s season opener against Western Force.

The Tahs back three scored five of their six tries, with Wallabies winger Rob Horne bagging a hat-trick.

While their pack won a good share of ball and playmakers Beale and Bernard Foley produced some defence-splitting plays, it wasn’t quite the slick well-oiled attacking Waratahs machine that took the competition by storm last year.

“We’re still a bit rusty in the way we want to play the game attaCk-wise,” Beale told AAP.

“We’ve got a full week to be able to fix up some of the problems that happened.”

Waratahs coach Michael Cheika felt the Chiefs defensive style at the breakdown on Friday was a sample of what opposing teams could throw at his side this year.

“At the attacking rucks, the Chiefs had a lot of players tackling, staying in the zone,” Cheika said.

“That’s the strategy I think teams are going to use, because they know we play with the ball and we play lots of phases and we don’t kick a lot.

“I think they are going to come around and really play on the edge around that area, so we’re going to have to be extremely aggressive with our attacking ruck and our ball carry, to ensure that we’re going to have the flow in the game that we want.”

Cheika confirmed he was looking at starting captain Dave Dennis in the second row and Jacques Potgieter at blindside flanker against the Force, reversing the roles the two men had last season.