Joseph backs no-name Highlanders
Coach Jamie Joseph readily admits his Highlanders team will be filled with a bunch of 'no-name branded' players.
However, he is adamant there will not be a repeat of last year's misery, when the Dunedin-based franchise finished a lowly 14th – their worst position in the history of Super Rugby.
Despite losing a host of high-profile and senior players – including Jamie Mackintosh (move to the Chiefs), Bronson Murray (no contract), Tony Woodcock (to Blues), Andrew Hore (no contract), Jason Rutledge (no contract), Tim Boys (no contract), Mose Tuiali'i (no contract), Colin Slade (to Crusaders), Tamati Ellison (to Rebels), Ma'a Nonu (to Blues), Hosea Gear (to Toulouse), Declan O'Donnell (to NZ Sevens) and Kade Poki (to Kubota Spears) – Joseph feels the team will give a better account of itself.
Their recruitment drive netted only a handful of notable players – Argentinean prop Matías Díaz, Willie Ripia (from Bay of Plenty), Winston Stanley (from Western Force), Patrick Osborne (from Chiefs) and Kurt Baker (from Taranaki).
"Successful teams are measured in different ways," the Highlanders coach said.
"One of them is on the scoreboard and another is how many guys we are bringing through, guys who were no-names.
"With that in mind there's a hell of a lot of those [no-name branded players] in our team this year."
Joseph has never been short of confidence, but this season he may have another reason to feel the team can improve on 2013's failed campaign.
Due to a lack of All Blacks Joseph will have had the bulk of his squad together for most of the pre-season.
The two Smiths, Ben and Aaron, will come back into the team towards the end of the month.
"That's quite pleasing in terms of our preparation. Whether we are good enough to play the likes of the Blues and the Chiefs is what we'll be measured on in terms of the scoreboard, but going into it we'll be better prepared than we were last year."
Tasman skipper Shane Christie remains the main injury headache as he recovers from a knee injury, but has made good progress.
The Highlanders take on the Brumbies in Queenstown on January 31 in their first pre-season game.
Source: Fairfax NZ News
