Jamie Joseph Demands Discipline as Highlanders Prepare for Blues Battle

Joseph said the Highlanders bounced back quickly after the disappointment of their late loss to the Waratahs in Sydney, a game played in humid, hot conditions they were not used to.

"The intent for the weekend was good at training today, so we've moved past that.

"We've just got to get things right. But, first of all, the Blues are coming off a loss as well, so it's going to be a physical match.

"The way they play their game is physical, and they're very prescribed, if you like, and use their forwards well. Then they've got a backline of All Blacks so, there's plenty of threats everywhere.

"If we can match them up from then we've got a good opportunity."

While much has been made of the action during last week's first round, Joseph said the game is more physical than when he was last involved eight years ago. There are bigger men with bigger bodies, and the players are a lot fitter.

"That leads itself towards a lot of collision injuries. We've got a few guys out, but so has everybody."

Two yellow cards proved costly for the Highlanders in Sydney. One yellow card stressed a side, but then to get another one?

"The match was lost in the dying moments, so how much did that 20 minutes playing with 14 men pay in the outcome.?

"Looking back there's a hell of a lot of little things that we need to fix, but the discipline's probably the biggest one."

Joseph said playing Viveni Lasaqa as an openside flanker against the Blues reflected his confrontational approach—an attitude that will be necessary to stop the Blues.

"He's not overly big, but he plays like a big player and is very quick.

"They won the competition [last year] by being direct, and we need players that can deal with it."

Taine Robinson will start at first five-eighths after impressing against the Waratahs.

"He's got a good kicking game, he's coming back to rugby and he's got a different skill set to Cam [Millar]. I think we need both of those guys."

Finn Hurley is another change to start at fullback.

"Finn has been unlucky. We've got an experienced campaigner in Gilby [Sam Gilbert], and we get a player with X factor. Finn has been injured a bit over the preseason with a wrist injury.

"But now he's getting back to full fitness, and we see this as the kind of game in which we give him a crack on the stadium where we know it will be dry.

"We know we're going to come under pressure, and then at times we're going to have to attack and he's that kind of player.

"We've got a way that we want to play the game. The first priority for us is to understand how the Blues play and what they bring to the game, which is a physical edge through the forwards.

"If the forwards front up then players like Finn come into play, but if the forwards have a hard day at the office it's hard for players like him to participate."