The Highlanders were beaten 34-27 by the Brumbies in Canberra.
They at least nabbed a bonus point for a close loss when Tangitau scored the second of his two tries in the final minute.
The ex-Blues winger has been a sensation since transferring south, and he did not deserve to be on the losing team.
There were again some glimpses of great stuff from the Highlanders, and they were largely brave and committed while having to spend large periods on defence.
But they also made some crucial errors, and were out-gunned for much of the game.
Tangitau was superb, and fellow winger Jona Nareki rolled back the years with an electric display.
Up front, Veveni Lasaqa was into everything and star lock Fabian Holland had another immense performance.
The game had a rather dramatic beginning when the Brumbies were reduced to 14 men after a matter of seconds.
Highlanders centre Thomas Umaga-Jensen fielded the opening kick, and got clobbered high by flying winger Corey Toole.
A quick check upstairs was followed by Toole getting binned for 10 minutes.
When Noah Lolesio kicked the Brumbies into an early lead, and Taine Robinson kicked out on the full, it appeared the Highlanders were going to waste their advantage.
Then, against the run of play, they scored the opening try.
The back three combined delightfully as Sam Gilbert made a bust and found a gliding Nareki, and he popped to in-form winger Tangitau to nab his fifth try of the season.
Nearly all the rest of the first half belonged to the Brumbies as they completely dominated territory and possession.
They muscled up and recycled well, and their opening try came from 17 phases that ended with hooker Billy Pollard burrowing over.
You will never be able to accuse the Highlanders of shirking their defensive duties, and they did a power of tackling as they simply could not get hold of the ball.
When they did get possession, they squandered it.
Robinson’s struggles continued with a missed touch and another restart sent out on the full, and the Highlanders’ scrum woes returned.
There were brief glimpses of inspiration, especially when Tangitau got near the ball or relentless flanker Lasaqa got involved.
But guts only take you so far.
The Brumbies leaped to a 10-point lead when they won a scrum penalty, sent in waves of attack and grabbed another physical front-rower’s try, this time to captain Allan Alaalatoa.
Unexpectedly, the Highlanders nearly closed the gap in the dying minutes.
It would have been a cracking try – halfback Nathan Hastie powered over the advantage line and offloaded to Soane Vikena, who handed off to Gilbert – but it was called back, ironically for a Gilbert knock-on.
The Highlanders had a late sniff of another opportunity but lacked final execution.
Still, 10 points down after having seen so little ball was not really that bad.
The second half started well for the Highlanders, too – and with a neat moment of deja vu.
Just like with the try that was scratched, Hastie ignited the attack and Gilbert finished it with a lovely five-pointer.
Hastie’s wonderful night continued when he sparked another attack, and Nareki scampered 40m for his first try of the season to give the Highlanders the lead.
The Brumbies looked a bit shocked, and fair enough, as they had dominated most of the game.
They regained some composure and the lead after a series of forward attacks led to a try to Toole.
Gilbert immediately kicked the Highlanders back in front, and the visitors held a two-point buffer with 10 minutes remaining.
Yet more scrum issues for the Highlanders were followed by a try to Brumbies winger Andy Muirhead as the lead switched hands and the clock started ticking.
Time was the issue for the Highlanders, and they could not get the ball back.
The Brumbies appeared to seal victory with a show of patience that led to a try to centre Len Ikitau.
Tangitau gave them a heck of a fright with a chip-and-chase score, and the Highlanders tried their best deep into stoppage time to snaffle a draw.
They now head to Perth to play the Force.
Super Rugby
The scores
Brumbies 34
Billy Pollard, Allan Alaalatoa, Corey Toole, Andy Muirhead, Len Ikitau tries; Noah Lolesio con, pen, Jack Debreczeni 2 con
Highlanders 27
Caleb Tangitau 2, Sam Gilbert, Jona Nareki tries; Gilbert 2 con, pen
Halftime: Brumbies 15-5.
