NSW Waratahs centre Izaia Perese believe they have the talent to match it with the best in Super Rugby Pacific, although concedes they've been far from it in 2023.
Perese scored the opener for the Waratahs as they produced a last-minute comeback to take an ugly 21-20 win over the Highlanders.
Catch every game of Super Rugby Pacific LIVE on Stan Sport. Start your Free Sport Trial Now
However, it was far from a joyous reaction to the win for the Wallabies centre.
“To be honest, frustration,” was Perese’s instant reaction to the win.
“There were so many times we didn’t do things to plan and so many times we let them back into the game from our own errors not executing the little things right.
“We got the win at the end of the day, but we’re far from happy.”
The frustration was visible as he described their attack, lamenting the lapses in communication and completing the basic skills.
It comes from a belief that they should be playing at a far higher standard given the double-digit Wallabies in the squad.
"When we’re on, it’s unmatchable I believe,” Perese said. “But again we need to get the little things right, like execution.
“It’s those little things that we allow other teams to come back into the game, that really hurts us.
"Once we can get on top of that sort of stuff, we’ll be able to take it all the way.”
It puts the NSW side in seventh position, hanging onto a finals spot with a favourable run home.
They face the sixth-place Reds next week before finishing the season with three games against teams below them.
“In such a tight season, you’re going to have games where felt you could have won, you’re in it and you lost," coach Darren Coleman said after the game
"They can go the other way and we win, so it’ll even out.
"We will definitely take that one.”
