NSW Waratahs coach Michael Cheika could throw Wallabies Berrick Barnes and Rob Horne into his backline against the Cheetahs on Friday, but says players who aren’t prepared to make sacrifices won’t get picked.

The Waratahs have made an erratic start to the Super Rugby season, losing two of their first three games.

They are third in the Australian conference and eighth overall after copping a 35-6 flogging from the Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday.

Cheika declared their last 15 minutes against the Brumbies as unacceptable.

“We have to make sacrifices to win those battles, whether it’s against the Brumbies or against the Cheetahs or against anyone,” Cheika said on Monday.

“And that’s something that the players are going to learn along the way, because if they don’t do it, then they won’t get picked.

” … you’ve got to get up off the ground, you’ve got to be in the line, you’ve got to hurt.”

Neither Barnes (knee) or Horne (hamstring) have played a Super game this season, but Cheika said they would both be okay for this week’s game in Sydney.

He said he could pick one to start and the other off the bench.

Cheika’s biggest injury concern is Test hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau, who hurt a hamstring against the Brumbies, while Wallabies No.8 Wycliff Palu could miss a second successive game with an ankle issue.

Cheika took umbrage at the suggestion the Waratahs lineout struggled after Polota-Nau was replaced by Luke Holmes.

“We had 23 lineout throws in the game, Holmes only missed only two,” Cheika said.

“What we let them do is close our space.

“Someone in our pack should have stood over and pushed a bloke out of the way and made the attention of the referee that they were closing the space in the lineout.

“But as it was, we stood passively and we let them get in our lineout.”

The Cheetahs are coming off an away win over the Highlanders and Cheika acknowledged the danger in open play of former Waratahs halfback Sarel Pretorius, who scored two tries in their victory.