Highlanders prop Kane Hames will go into the pivotal Super Rugby match against the high-flying Waratahs in Sydney on Sunday with belief and a clean slate.

The fourth-placed Highlanders have a woeful record in Sydney, just two wins – in 2004 and 2007 – since the competition began.

In fact, they have won only one of 13 Super Rugby games in Australia since 2008.

But Hames, 25 – one of the finds of the Highlanders’ campaign in his debut season – is not concerned by what has gone before.

“They’re not a bogey team to me because I haven’t played them in a competition match before,” he said.

“You could also say the playoffs are a bogey to us because we haven’t made them since 2002, but this is a new team and there is a belief we can do it.”

That is not to say Hames does not respect the table-topping Waratahs, who demolished the Brumbies 39-8 last week.

“I expect to be marking Sekope Kefu and he’s pretty good,” he said.

“It’s virtually a Wallaby front-row with him, Benn Robinson and Tatafu Polota-Nau.”

Hames has played in all but one of the Highlanders’ 14 matches and, although only 113kg, he gave giant Chiefs tighthead prop Ben Tameifuna, 137kg, a working over in the 29-25 victory in Dunedin last weekend.

“Belief and hard work can move mountains,” he said with a grin.

Hames said the tough conditioning work he had done with injured lock Brad Thorn had paid off.

“He always reminds me of the need for high work rate and physicality as well as scrummaging,” he said.

“I love having high tackle numbers and hitting rucks.”

Hames has been touted by some as a future All Black but he wants his play on the field to do the talking.

“Of course I want be an All Black, in my heart and my head, but I’m not overly interested in talking about it,” he said.

“I just need to keep doing what I’m doing, get better and better and see what happens.”