His side are now two wins from two after a late Dillon Hunt try was enough to see off Brad Thorn's spirited young Reds side 36-31 in Dunedin on Friday, but afterwards Mauger bemoaned the Highlanders' passive defence and some missed opportunities.
"We could have been more clinical, definitely," Mauger said.
"Especially when we got down to their part of the field.
"We had a plan to move their big pack around and when we did it well it worked but when we were a little bit loose we didn't quite execute the opportunities that we created."
