NSW Waratahs centre Izaia Perese hopes the side can capitalise on their 'promising' performance against the Highlanders as they prepare for a tough slate of games.
Perese returned to the side after missing the win over the Crusaders due to a concussion.
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The 26-year-old was intent on not letting the setback affect his style of play as he bulldozed his way through the Highlanders.
“I think putting it all behind me, just focusing on my job, what I’m going to bring to the team is key," he told Rugby.com.au about his return.
“I wasn’t worrying about the concussion and what I had in the previous week, I think this week was just to go hard or go home
“We all do our job well and back whatever is called and our game plan, we’ll come away with the win."
Perese crossed the line just before the break and had nine tackle busts, however, it was not enough as the Waratahs went down 23-21 after a missed kick after the siren.
The Wallaby lamented a poor start to the second half, which saw the side concede a penalty to Sam Gilbert and a try to Taniela Tele'a, which proved the difference.
“There’s a lot of good to take away from it but we need to capitalise on that," he believes.
“We made some errors in that second half that cost us a bit. They played some pretty good territory, kicking battles and capitalising on our errors.
“Heading forward, we need to be better with our ball handling, attacking ruck and need to treat the ball like gold.”
The Waratahs will host the Blues on Saturday at Allianz Stadium, coming off their own tough defeat to the Hurricanes.
A brutal away trip to Fiji will follow this, the first in club history, leaving Perese and the club desperate for a strong result on the weekend.
“We have to go the full 80 as a backline, including myself along with remaining solid through the forwards and building that pressure," he added.
“We need to come out in the second half and put teams under the pump, dump what happened this week and move on to our next challenge which is the Blues.
