Jamie Joseph: 'We probably played our best rugby since I've been here'

His side burst out the blocks in their 31-26 victory under the roof at Forsyth Barr Stadium, closing the gap between the top six to just three points, after the Queensland Reds fell to a narrow defeat at the hands of the Chiefs in Brisbane on Friday.

In-form Auckland-born winger Caleb Tangitau was the second to strike, after Jonah Lowe opened the scoring in the first 10 minutes. Jacob Ratamatavuki-Kneepkens extended the lead to 21-0 in the 20th minute, showcasing the Highlanders’ ability when they get going.

Lowe got his second just prior to halftime, which was the home side’s final five-pointer of the game as the Waratahs closed the gap as the contest reached its final stages.

“I thought we played some brilliant rugby in the first half, scored some really good tries, lots of lots of skill, highly coordinated team effort,” Joseph told media in Dunedin post-match.

“We probably played our best rugby since I’ve been here, and then yellow cards put a bit of pressure on the team. Waratahs have some pretty flash backs out t here. And they really put the pressure on and they really came back at us.

“So in the end, we just had to grit our teeth, really, and show some real ticker and the boys found a way to win the game, so it was really pleasing.”

“I think just through our prep throughout the week, Jamie gave us the license to back our skill. And when we get into that 22 we managed to finally score some nice tries through skill,” the Highlanders prop said.

“It wasn’t always pretty, but we we got over the line, and it was just yeah like doubling down on that into the second half, because we knew that the Waratahs was going to come back.

“It’s pleasing for us after how our lineout was operating and our scrum dominance, so all of our facets of our game working well in that first half.”

Joseph’s Highlanders will likely need to beat both the Hurricanes and the Chiefs in the next two weeks, with their bye coming in the final round of the season, where they could need results to go their way.

One player who will be crucial for their chances against both the Hurricanes and the Chiefs will be Tangitau, whose form is putting him in the conversation for All Blacks selection under Dave Rennie.

Joseph was full of praise of his winger, who returned from a concussion he suffered against the Blues at Eden Park a couple of weeks ago.

“He’s been consistent all season, Caleb, very quick, very skillful when he pins his ears back, and once he has a real crack, yeah, watch out.

“So I thought he had a really good game, and got a bit tired towards the end of the game, like most of the boys did. I think it was that was because we played kind of half game down a player.”