Clanging cowbells to a cacophony of boos ringing in his ears - the transition from Waikato Stadium to the Sydney Football Stadium has not exactly proved a rugby home away from home for Soseni Anesi.
For a player attuned to hearing nothing but support when playing in front of the Mooloo faithful, the New South Wales fans have proved harder to please despite their team's handy position inside the Super 14's top four.
Anesi has not been singled out by the boo boys for his New Zealand background - rather it was the team performance against the Sharks where rugby culture shock hit home for the 28-year-old fullback.
The Waratahs might have banked four points but the execution of the 25-21 victory in round four was not enough to win over a crowd unconvinced by the value of winning ugly.
"It was strange getting booed," said Anesi who contributed to a kick-centric strategy that evening.
But Phil Waugh soon placed things into perspective: "Our captain said it doesn't matter what people are saying about how we're playing.
"It doesn't matter how you do it, it's all about winning."
Ironically, the Waratahs gained more kudos for a 38-48 loss to the Bulls in Pretoria than the stutter past the Sharks. They also boast the third best attacking record in the competition behind the Bulls and Crusaders, even if 73 of the 186 were given up by the Lions.
That 11-try rout silenced the detractors but the Waratahs assume they are they expected to turn on another entertaining spectacle against the Blues on Saturday night.
Anesi sought to temper those expectations, pointing to last weekend's 14-10 grind over the lowly Western Force in Perth.
"Our main thing this week is going to be our defence, it's what's been winning us games."
Though happy to play his part in the defensive alignment, Anesi admitted adapting the safety-first policy was one of the biggest challenges he faced since moving on from the Chiefs after last year's final in Pretoria.
"The biggest thing is the style of play these guys play. It's pretty structured, it's a bit of a change," he said.
"In Waikato we try and get the ball out and hopefully we create something out there. These guys do the hard work up front."
Despite playing alongside guys he used to flatten or sledge, Anesi believes he has slotted into his new environment -- and a back three featuring Lachie Turner another new arrival in 2010, Drew Mitchell via the Force.
"At the start we had to work on our understanding but we do a lot of analysis, it's been good."
Mitchell has been dominating the try-scoring -- he notched a NSW record of four against the Lions -- but Anesi is hoping his time will come against an old provincial rival when he is introduced off the bench.
Although the Blues personnel are well known, Anesi was looking forward to facing a New Zealand team after a steady diet of South African and interstate opposition.
"It'll be interesting. We know what they're going to bring. They've got players that attack from anywhere. Roks (Joe Rokocoko) is back to his old form, Rene Ranger's going great at centre ..."
Still, the challenge of running out against his old back three mates Mils Muliaina and Sitiveni Sivivatu in Hamilton on May 8 is what really enthuses Anesi.
"I can't wait to go back and play them. Hopefully I stay injury free," he said.
Anesi, who has 41 caps for the Chiefs and 76 for Waikato, hoped to return to Hamilton on a more permanent basis for this year's domestic competition, not that he felt like an outsider in Sydney.
"The boys here have been really good. We've had barbeques and dinners to get to know each other -- and the weather's awesome."
