The NSW Waratahs have silenced their doubters and sent a resounding message to the Brumbies that they mean business after a 20-point thumping of the table-topping Chiefs in their most complete performance of the season.

Two tries apiece to captain Michael Hooper and Israel Folau – who ran 85 metres to score one of his best tries ever for NSW – stood up when their side needed them most to keep the Waratahs sitting pretty atop the Australian conference.

Fans have been waiting all year for Daryl Gibson's men to click into gear and at a time when their coach had labelled this a do-or-die fixture, there was no better way to show the Brumbies why they are far from certainties to walk into the finals as the top Australian side.

History, however, suggested the Waratahs had the upper hand on the Chiefs – they have beaten their New Zealand rivals on five of the last six occasions and seven of nine times at home in Sydney.

But the Chiefs' unblemished record of five away wins this season – they were the only team yet to lose on the road – has now been ruined thanks to a classy Waratahs outfit who showed some of the same pizazz and polish of their 2014 title-winning squad.

The sight of Dean Mumm goose-stepping defenders, Will Skelton sprinting into open field and Tatafu Polota-Nau packing into a scrum with a shaved head showed this wasn't a normal evening for the Waratahs.

A 17-13 lead at half-time for the Waratahs - they received a standing ovation after 40 minutes for the first time this year - was flattering for a team with so little possession in enemy territory, but their six-tries-to-four win will lift morale significantly heading into the June Test break. 

Captain's run: Waratahs skipper Michael Hooper on the way to scoring one of his two tries. Photo: Mark Kolbe

The Waratahs' lead lasted just eight minutes into the second half when Chiefs hooker Nathan Harris fell over the tryline but when Andrew Kellaway scored his first Super Rugby try minutes later before Hooper crashed over again, momentum shifted permanently back toward the home team.

Rob Horne was sound at inside centre; his defence as resolute as ever, while Folau's scintillating performance will no doubt worry England coach Eddie Jones, provided he had not fallen asleep in his armchair.

Bernard Foley slotted a penalty in the second minute to give NSW an early advantage but it was Folau's intercept try that got NSW out of jail and brought a 18,175-strong crowd to their feet.

A 16-phase passage of play saw the Chiefs heap sustained pressure on the Waratahs but an instinctive piece of individual brilliance from Folau saw him put his skates on and score in the corner. It was essentially a 14-point turnaround given the visitors looked certain to score.

The Chiefs have scored more tries than any other team this year, but were gifted their easiest of the season when Nick Phipps bundled a put-down in goal in which Seta Tamanivalu picked up the pieces to reduce the deficit to 10-5.

Chiefs five-eighth Aaron Cruden was the beneficiary of a Damian McKenzie break down the short side to draw scores level, but his inaccurate conversions saw McKenzie take over for rest of the evening.

The only thing more remarkable than Folau skipping off for a length of the field try was seeing a breakaway from giant Skelton, who also had the dexterity to get a pass away to Hooper as he crossed for an out-of-nowhere five-pointer to keep the Tahs in touch.

NSW passed the Chiefs 22-metre line twice in the opening 40 minutes and scored on both occasions and how they took a four-point lead into the main break defies belief given their limited territory.

No less than nine of the Waratahs starting XV were named in Wallabies coach Michael Cheika's 39-man squad ahead of the England series. For those players who head into camp on the Sunshine Coast on Sunday, they can arrive with their heads held high knowing they have something very much to look forward to when they return in July with their season most definitely alive and well.