The tour skipper, who had previously been struggling with a knee problem, made his Lions debut last Saturday against the Queensland Reds and starts again a week later in a side which features six other Welshmen.
Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies reunite their national partnership in the centre with Leigh Halfpenny at full back. Mike Phillips, who hasn’t started a game since the Lions’ opening win over the Barbarians in Hong Kong, partners Ireland’s Jonny Sexton at half back.
In the forwards, Warburton is joined by Adam Jones and Alun Wyn Jones in a side that looks packed with experience.
On the bench, Richard Hibbard, who crossed against the Combined Country, and Dan Lydiate, have a chance to further press their Test claims.
“It would be great to remain unbeaten and take that momentum into the first Test,” said head coach Gatland.
“However, more importantly, we are looking to finalise key playing combinations and strengthen our patterns of play during the next two matches.
“This match, the fourth of our lead-up matches in Australia, will assist in this process. To beat the Waratahs we know we have to improve on our strong performance last Saturday against the Reds. This side is more than capable of doing that.”
With just over a week until the first Test against the Wallabies, Gatland’s selection for this game is certainly an interesting one. The New Zealander has named a side jam-full with experience with no fewer than seven of the starting XV in Sydney this weekend involved in the first Test of the tour to South Africa four years ago.
Roberts, Phillips and Adam Jones are just three of the Lions who start on Saturday with previous tour experience and Gatland will be hoping the Welsh trio can use their leadership in key areas of the field to help keep his side unbeaten.
Saturday’s game at the Allianz Stadium will also see Simon Zebo become the 803rd player to play for the British & Irish Lions, the Irish winger making his debut in Sydney less than a week after arriving on the tour.
Zebo followed props Alex Corbisiero and Ryan Grant out to Australia as back up for the injured Tommy Bowe and finds himself wearing a Lions jersey a week after helping Ireland to beat the USA in Houston.
Fellow Irish international Rob Kearney also features for the first time on the tour, albeit as a replacement, after missing the opening four games with a hamstring problem.
“The tour has now moved on to Sydney, where we face another tough examination in front of a parochial sell-out crowd,” said tour manager Andy Irvine.
“The squad has a lot of respect for the Waratahs who have proven down the years to be tough opponents.
“The match represents the final Saturday match prior to the first Test in Brisbane. Naturally, the players know that Test places are still up for grabs and they will be eager to press for selection against the Wallabies.”
While the Wartahs may be without some of their key names, they do have skipper Dave Dennis and centre Rob Horne available after they were released back to the Sydney side. They will be joined in the home side by outside half Bernard Foley and scrum half Matt Lucas.
“I was impressed with the Waratahs against the Force,” said Gatland.
“Their breakdown is excellent and they are a really good outfit. They had a poor start to the season by their own admission but they look as though they are getting better as the season has gone along.”
British & Irish Lions: 15 Leigh Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues / Wales) 14 Sean Maitland (Glasgow Warriors / Scotland) 13 Jonathan Davies (Scarlets / Wales) 12 Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues / Wales) 11 Simon Zebo (Munster / Ireland) 10 Jonathan Sexton (Leinster / Ireland) 9 Mike Phillips (Bayonne / Wales) 1 Mako Vunipola (Saracens / England) 2 Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers / England) 3 Adam Jones (Ospreys / Wales) 4 Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys / Wales) 5 Paul O’Connell (Munster / Ireland) 6 Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers / England) 7 Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues / Wales, captain) 8 Jamie Heaslip (Leinster / Ireland)
Replacements: Richard Hibbard, (Ospreys / Wales) Alex Corbisiero, (London Irish / England)Dan Cole, (Leicester Tigers / England) Geoff Parling, (Leicester Tigers / England) Dan Lydiate, (Dragons / Wales) Ben Youngs, (Leicester Tigers / England) Owen Farrell, (Saracens / England) Rob Kearney. (Leinster / Ireland)
