LOTE TUQIRI has fired the first salvo in the high-stakes Waratahs-Reds derby by accusing Queensland of a "cop out" by becoming tournament spoilers.

The Reds can go a long way towards denying NSW a place in the Super 14 semi-finals with victory on Saturday, and Tuqiri said: "They call themselves the spoilers, and it's a bit of a cop out to call yourselves the spoilers. Why not try a bit harder at the start of the year?"

Tuqiri was one of a number of Waratahs players who ran in mufti gear at training yesterday, because their official NSW kit had been lost on transit from South Africa. The gear arrived last night.

Tuqiri wore a grey Waratahs hooded top with jet black Fijian team football shorts. But for once, he was not the standout. Prop Matt Dunning wore the football jersey and shorts of his local Berowra Heights Hotel team, adorned with a No.1 and the maroon colours of the Queensland State of Origin league team.

Centre Sam Harris was kitted in blue board shorts and a grey T-shirt, and second-rower Dan Vickerman trained in his Sydney University training shirt. Tuqiri said the Waratahs' inability to win in South Africa has pushed them into finals mode, as they must beat the Reds to guarantee a semi-finals berth.

"It's been pretty much like that over the last couple of weeks," Tuqiri said. "You want to be playing some good footy leading into the semis and getting a bit of a roll on. We're not too far away but a really good win would be nice going to the semis for confidence and everything else. I wouldn't say confidence is low but a good win always lifts that up going into a semi-final week."

After playing fullback against the Stormers in Cape Town last weekend, Tuqiri said he would like to have another crack in the No.15 jersey in dry conditions. However, at training yesterday, Tuqiri was on the wing while Sam Norton-Knight ran at fullback, where he came on from the bench with success last Saturday.

"I'll play wherever they put me. Whether [McKenzie] wants me to play there, we'll see," Tuqiri said. "I'm quite comfortable on the wing, but I'll put my hand up wherever the team needs me."