By 1991, Joseph was a consistent starter for his province and was moved to number six where his athleticism and line-out ability saw him gain a call-up to the New Zealand Maori squad where he played 10 times between 1991 and 1994.

When playing for the All Blacks against England in 1993, Jamie Joseph stomped on Kyran Bracken's ankle causing a significant injury.

[6][7][8][9] Jamie Joseph remained as a regular starter for the All Blacks and was part of the 1995 Rugby World Cup squad that famously lost to South Africa in the final.

A further eight victories saw the Lions finish top seed ahead of the Knockout stage of the 2008 Air New Zealand Cup.

After beating Taranaki and Southland in the quarterfinals and semifinals, Joseph led Wellington to a narrow loss to Canterbury in the final, losing 7–6.

In his first season in charge of a franchise side, Joseph's saw mixed results with the Highlanders only winning half of their games (8 won, 8 lost) to finish eighth on the table.

[19] The 2014 Super Rugby season saw the Highlanders make the play-off for the first time since 2002, however was knocked-out by the Sharks in the qualifiers, losing 31–27.

In August 2015, Joseph coached the famous invitational team the Barbarians in a 2015 RWC Warm-up match for Samoa.

[22] In his absence until he could formally start his duties with the Brave Blossoms, Ryuji Nakatake and Mark Hammett acted as interim head coaches during the 2016 Asia Rugby Championship and 2016 June Tests.

Japan's final match on their November tour saw Fiji claim a 38–25 win at a neutral venue in France.

The review concluded with the team undergoing a restructure which sees the side move from the JRFU to a new organisation, the Japan Super Rugby Association (JSRA).

In round 17, Joseph led his side to a Super Rugby best, winning a third game for the first time, beating the Bulls 42–37.

Despite finishing bottom of the combined Super Rugby table, the Sunwolves experienced their best season, winning three games and earning 14 points.

On 20 September 2018, Joseph stood down as head coach at the Sunwolves to fully concentrate on the preparations of the national team ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.