And who can blame him?
The rising Highlanders star is flying fit again, has four tries through the first month of the season — his record with the club is now 10 tries in 11 games — and is in the top five in Super Rugby for defenders beaten, clean breaks and metres gained.
Tangitau is thriving in a lethal combination with fellow outside backs Jona Nareki and Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens, and has revealed Highlanders great turned assistant coach Ben Smith has set the bar high for the exciting trio.
‘‘Bender always challenges us every week to try and be the best back three in the comp,’’ Tangitau said after the 39-31 win over the Force on Saturday night.
‘‘I’m loving it eh. I love playing with them. They make my job easy.’’
It is all very well shining when there is a plentiful supply of ball and open space around you.
The modern winger also has to put in a big shift when it comes to negotiating the aerial battle, and Tangitau and his crew have been pleasingly efficient in that area through the opening rounds.
‘‘These days, it’s really important to get the scraps,’’ Tangitau said.
‘‘Getting people around the ball —because there’s no blocking any more. It’s just straight one-on-one, and it can go anywhere now.
‘‘You can see where the game’s going these days. It’s just part of the game now.’’
Tangitau shone for the All Blacks XV on their brief northern tour at the end of last year.
It seems certain he will be in the mix for promotion to the top squad under new coach Dave Rennie, but for now all Tangitau can do is keep shining for the Highlanders.
They were pleased to tuck away a win over the Force before facing a rematch with the Crusaders, he said.
‘‘It was tough. It was a bit of a grind.
‘‘It was a really important game for us, I reckon, after losing two in a row, just to get our confidence back and hopefully go through the next couple of games.’’
