News

Mackintosh not giving up

Friday 28th March 2008

Jamie Mackintosh: Down but not out

The Highlanders' Super 14 rugby play-off hopes might have been dashed even before the halfway stage of their season, but there's still plenty of fight left in them, prop Jamie Mackintosh has warned.

Winless after five matches and buried at the bottom of the competition, coach Glenn Moore has changed a third of last week's starting team for Saturday's match against the Chiefs in Hamilton.

He hopes the fresh legs will help inject some southern magic into and his team so they can start turning around their season, regain some lost credibility and finish with a flourish.

"We're not going to hide, or fool anyone because we're disappointed with our own season so far," Mackintosh told NZPA.

"In the weekend we were pretty confident we could pull out a win (against the Western Force).

"We showed we were good enough but we lacked the finesse and experience and probably the execution to finish the game off in the last 15 minutes. It was pretty disappointing."

Losing through poor goal-kicking and conceding a few late points has been the story of the Highlanders' season

"You can't blame it on the rub of the green or poor refereeing calls," Mackintosh said of their largely close losses.

"At the end of the day we're not looking for excuses. We lost the games ourselves. Surely, the rub of the green might be of no help but it's really up to us, not the referee, to win the game."

Mackintosh, one of the standout players in the team consistently, said the best aspect of their season so far has been the team spirit.

Neither the enthusiasm for hardwork nor the desire to win has waned, says the Highlanders prop.

"When a team is losing a few on the trot they start picking on little things that you wouldn't when you win and turn them into big issues. Nothing like that is happening down here," said Mackintosh.

"We're still having fun, still training hard. The off-the-field relations are still excellent."

With at least 14 newcomers into the squad and a new coach, the Highlanders were always expected to struggle this season.

Moore is patiently working on a three-year plan to take the team to the top.