The Blacks took on the 2016 grand finalists in a pre-season match which gave Waring-Bryant a glimpse of what’s coming this weekend.

“They have big guys up front and they know how to run the ball and dominate the rucks and lineouts,” Waring-Bryant said.

“These guys made the grand final last year and have played pretty bloody well this year, as far as I know.

“It’ll be a tough game on Saturday but I reckon we do [have the forwards to match City].

“We’ve got the tall guys in the row and we’ll try and get them up front to try and steal the ball.

“In the scrums we’ve got a young bloke Ewan Morriss who’s been doing a great job.”

Ave Maiava will miss the match with a handful of niggle injuries with Jamie Hydes to slide into inside centre after impressing in second grade.

BLACKS FIRST XV

1. Semi Tafili

2. Chris Latu (c)

3. Ewan Morriss

4. Mitch White

5. Daniel McGreal

6. Andrew Madden

7. Aistan Fidow

8. James Kanaley

9. Jason Waring-Bryant

10. Teei Piawi

11. Johnny Brown

12. Jamie Hydes

13. Chris Tomi

14. Billy Maiava

15. Manu Rokomatoto