Super Rugby Pacific: How Jamie Joseph has made his mark in Highlanders return

It hasn’t taken long for Jamie Joseph to make his mark in his return to the Highlanders.

After seven years and two World Cup cycles as head coach of the Japanese national team, Joseph returned to Dunedin to take on a new role as head of rugby with the Highlanders, a position that has him overseeing the franchise’s entire rugby programme.

The Highlanders have not had a winning record in the two years since Super Rugby Pacific began following the pandemic period. They snuck into the final playoff spot with just four wins from 14 games in 2022 before being thumped by the Blues in the quarter-final, and missed the playoffs last year with five wins and nine losses.

But as the new season approaches, there’s plenty of positivity in the Dunedin camp and captain Billy Harmon said Joseph’s return had coincided with a noticeable lift in several areas.

“He’s been awesome. Him and [head coach] Clarke Dermody, they’ve done an awesome job of setting the standard around our environment and starting to grow that culture,” Harmon said.

“I don’t know if you know much about Jamie Jo, but he’s obviously known for his hard work and his presence. He’s brought that. Throughout the pre-season, he’s been in there adding more trainings in, more contact and all that sort of stuff; just building the mindset around hard work and being physical.”

Harmon said the early signs of those changes taking effect had been on show during the side’s pre-season, with the team responding to what Joseph and Dermody had been implementing.

“I think that’s what’s helped us to start growing our game. It’s only the start, and that’s an area where we just want to keep growing,” he said.

“It’s definitely the best year that I’ve been involved [with the Highlanders]. Derms, and with Jamie Jo, they’ve put a massive emphasis around everyone connecting through the whole Highlanders company, so it’s been wicked.”

Billy Harmon will captain the Highlanders in 2024. Photo / Photosport

The Highlanders went through the cobweb clearers unbeaten, putting up plenty of points in their wins over Moana Pasifika, the Hurricanes and the Crusaders.

While pre-season results mean little in the grand scheme of things, and the real test would begin on Saturday night with their season opener against Moana Pasifika, Harmon said the team had taken a step in the right direction.

Like many of the Kiwi teams around the competition, the Highlanders will be a new look side in 2024. The team had 16 players depart at the end of last season, including key figures such as Aaron Smith, Shannon Frizell, Josh Dickson and Marino Mikaele-Tu’u, so finding that new flow will be key to their campaign.

“For us, it’s about seeing where our game is at and it’s in a pretty good spot. We’ve come in with a really good plan, everyone’s done their job really well, everyone’s put their hand up, everyone nailed their role so it’s a good start.”

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.