The Highlanders pushed a quality Brumbies side hard, but suffered a heartbreaking 14-10 loss in Dunedin on Friday night.
Joseph hailed his side’s defensive effort against a team that had beaten the three other New Zealand sides it had played this season.
The Australians just need a win over the red-hot Hurricanes to complete the set.
They were very lucky to edge the Highlanders, though.
Highlanders hooker Henry Bell was yellow-carded late in the game when his head made contact with the noggin of Brumbies lock Nick Frost.
That robbed the Highlanders of a defender and they could not hold on to their 10-7 lead.
‘‘It hurts because I felt the team played really well for the entirety of the game until we came down to [the end],’’ Joseph said.
‘‘It is really hard to play a quality team with 14 players.
‘‘They are a very good side. And they’ve got a very good backline ... and they broke us a few times as well.
‘‘But even when they broke us, we managed to find a way to stop them. That was pleasing.
‘‘It kind of means nothing when you walk away after a massive effort like that and you still come second.’’
The Highlanders will have to pick themselves up quickly.
They are on the road for the next three weeks, beginning with the Blues in Auckland on Friday night.
There are a couple of areas that need work, but the lineout is a priority.
It has been wonky all season and it cost them dearly against the Brumbies.
‘‘Well, yeah, I think it’s been a bit of a sore point all season.
‘‘What can I say about the lineout? No-one intentionally goes to overthrow the ball or miss a jump or the timing’s not quite right.
‘‘It’s perfect at training. It’s just nailing it under pressure in big games of rugby.’’
The Highlanders also left a lot of points out on the paddock. They could not finish off key moments.
‘‘When you add up all the little things over the course of the 80 minutes, despite how well the players played, it’s the little things that are hurting us. And so those are the areas that we have to fix.’’
As far as the yellow card is concerned, Joseph felt there was mitigation in that he believed Frost had dipped into Bell.
‘‘Those sorts of situations, when the games are so close, become a real telling moment.’’
The Highlanders earned a losing bonus point and moved up to seventh on the table, but they are five points out of a playoff spot and just a point ahead of the Waratahs, who have a game in hand.
The Hurricanes (30 points) stayed top of the table with a thoroughly impressive 42-19 win over the Blues.
Damian McKenzie and Quinn Tupaea led the way as the Chiefs (27 points) moved past the Blues into second place with a 62-17 thumping of Moana Pasifika in Rotorua.
The Reds celebrated their first win over the Crusaders at Suncorp Stadium in 15 years, beating the defending champions 31-26, while the Fijian Drua edged the Force 24-22 in Lautoka.
