His inclusion is one of three major changes coach Jake White has made to the starting line-up which beat the Lions in Johannesburg last week.
White has also brought back prop Dan Palmer, who was rested for the Lions match, and Sam Carter, who's been promoted from the bench to pair with Scott Fardy at lock.
Palmer will resume his usual position at tighthead prop, moving Ben Alexander to loosehead for the clash at Canberra Stadium.
The changes push Peter Kimlin and Ruaidhri Murphy to the bench, while Scott Sio and Leon Power have been omitted from the 22-man squad.
Teams:
15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Andrew Smith, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Nic White, 8 Fotu Auelua, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Ben Mowen (captain), 5 Sam Carter, 4 Scott Fardy, 3 Dan Palmer, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Ben Alexander
16 Anthony Hegarty, 17 Ruaidhri Murphy, 18 Peter Kimlin, 19 Ita Vaea, 20 Ian Prior, 21 Robbie Coleman, 22 Tevita Kuridrani
Waratahs:
TBA