Highlanders eye winning run against Drua in Ba

The Highlanders have found their winning mojo and will want to continue that on Saturday against the Swire Shipping Drua at Govind Park in Ba.

This was the gist of Highlanders head coach Jamie Joseph’s interview following their 27-17 win over Moana Pasifika in Christchurch, New Zealand on Sunday.

That result has seen the Highlanders surge up to seventh place on the Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific ladder, just two competition points behind the Queensland Reds. But the Queenslanders do have one game in hand, with three home matches still to play in the round-robin.

“As a team, coming off a couple of really tight losses against a couple of teams who are in the top half of the competition was a little bit hurting,” Joseph said.

“This is because the boys played really well at times, enough to probably win those games and fell short. That put a lot of pressure on this game. I think our players didn’t play their best rugby because of that pressure.

“Get a win under our belt, jump on the plane, get over to Fiji and go and have another crack. I think that’s important for us going forward.”

The clash against the Drua could see the return of Highlanders robust winger Caleb Tangitau while full-back Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens is back from injury.

“He’s beaten the doctor’s clock, so that’s always good. We find ourselves in a position where we’ve got to take each performance as it comes, and getting Jacob back is going to be crucial for our performance,” All Blacks and Highlanders prop Ethan de Groot told Radio New Zealand.

Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens is one of the five players of Fijian descent in the Highlanders squad. The other players are Timoci Tavatavanawai, Jona Nareki, Veveni Lasaqa and Soane Vikena.

The match kicks-off at 4pm.