He learned they have hearts the size of Phar Lap’s, they are capable of something special when they put everything together and they have work to do in a couple of areas.
It took just two games in the second Joseph era for the Highlanders to deliver a statement performance.
Their 29-21 win over the Blues at Forsyth Barr Stadium was an upset in itself, given the defending champions’ pedigree, but had enhanced status as the Highlanders had to play for a staggering 18 minutes with just 13 men.
"I’m incredibly proud of the boys’ effort," Joseph said.
"Basically, how they won that game in the last 20 minutes when we lost all our boys ... we had to adjust.
"There was little that the coaches could do. It came down to Jim’s [Timoci Tavatavanawai’s] leadership, to Sean Withy’s leadership and how they brought the team together.
"We got the job done. That’s massive growth for us.
"We’ve got a solid group of men who are leading from the front by the way they play the game.
"I thought we grew a bit today around our intelligence when we were under pressure.
"A lot of teams, against the Blues, would have thrown the towel in, but we got better, and that’s a nice thing."
There was a remarkable play in the 61st minute when Tavatavanawai — the Super Rugby MVP after two rounds? — wrestled a Blues prop to the ground, won a penalty, tapped quickly, and peeled off his second 50-22 in as many games.
Joseph was also happy to highlight the efforts of two-try tyro Finn Hurley.
"He’s got massive potential. You saw that tonight.
"Finn’s like all rugby players — he gets ahead of himself sometimes. But let him go, I reckon. Let him go, let him be himself, give him confidence, and coach him to understand balance."
It was not all sweetness and light from the demanding coach.
Joseph was not impressed at some early plays that led to the Blues taking a 14-3 lead and threatening to get away on the Highlanders.
"I just thought we made some really soft decisions and let in some soft tries.
"I’m not worried about our mentality. But we’ve got to stop making soft errors where we allow teams to get a sniff.
"We got away with it tonight but we’ve got to get better in that area."
The Highlanders copped two yellow cards in their first-round loss to the Waratahs in Sydney and made it three on Saturday night.
Veteran prop Daniel Lienert-Brown cleaned out Blues halfback Taufa Funaki with no arms, and his yellow card was later upgraded to a red.
That led to all sorts of confusion when a scrum was called, and even Joseph joked he was not the ideal man to clarify the situation.
The Highlanders had lost Saula Ma’u to an HIA in the 10th minute, and fellow starting prop Ethan de Groot succumbed to a knee knock in the 44th.
When Lienert-Brown was marched, the Highlanders only had one prop standing so had to ask for golden oldies scrums, and as it was their "fault", they had to take off a second player when the first scrum was called.
Mitch Dunshea was the man sacrificed, so Highlanders fans were treated to the surreal sight of Tavatavanawai packing down on the blindside flank and Folau Fakatava at No 8.
Remarkably, the Blues could not score again despite having a two-man advantage for 18 minutes.
"I think we coped well with that, you know, and we were able to adapt to that situation," Joseph said.
Ma’u will now enter concussion protocols, while more should be known about de Groot today.
It was another unpredictable Super Rugby Saturday to follow Friday night wins for the Chiefs (49-24 over the Crusaders) and the Reds (56-36 over Moana Pasifika).
The Hurricanes got a heck of a fright from the Fijian Drua before winning 38-34 in Napier, and the Force stunned the Brumbies 45-42, posting their first win in Canberra in 14 years despite conceding four yellow cards.
