 His mother was born in Fiji and is part-Fijian, which made him eligible to play internationally for Fiji, something which Higginbotham contemplated before being accepted into the Wallabies.In 2007-2008, Higginbotham played international rugby sevens for the Australian national rugby sevens team.In 2007, Higginbotham was the Queensland Reds Academy Player of the Year, and made his Super 14 debut with the Reds the following year against the Bulls.