They beat the Force 43-35 in Invercargill on Sunday to snap a three-game losing streak.
Victory did not come without incident, though.
All Blacks loose forward Shannon Frizell was scratched moments before the game.
He pulled up lame during the warm-up.
Lock Fabian Holland picked up a leg complaint during the match, while hooker Andrew Makalio suffered a big head impact and he will now have to go through the return-to-play protocols.
The other two might be good to go for the next match.
Assistant coach Dave Dillon said Frizell’s leg injury was very much a case of wait and see which fans will interpret optimistically.
And Holland "presented pretty well" yesterday.
That is good news for the Highlanders who already have a dozen players sidelined with injury.
The upside of all those injuries is the Highlanders have been able to get a glimpse of their future potential.
Otago youngsters Cameron Millar and Oliver Haig made their debut in the weekend and promising playmaker Finn Hurley also got on the park.
He has made his Highlanders debut before playing for Otago which sounds like a future trivia question.
Midfielder Jake Te Hiwi has also made his debut for the Highlanders this season.
Add in Holland, who is just 20, and you have a young group of players coming through who could have long careers ahead.
But it was one of the more experienced campaigners who has shown the way the past few weeks.
Ordinarily loose forward Hugh Renton might not have had much of a run.
But with powerful ball-runner Marino Mikaele-Tu’u out with a rib complaint, Renton has had an opportunity to show what he is capable of.
He has made a few of those form teams which people love to hate and hate to love.
"I’m just enjoying getting some minutes, really," he said when asked about his strong form.
He was quick to shift the credit to some of his team-mates, notably All Black halfback Aaron Smith.
"Relishing playing off Aaron Smith. You can’t underestimate how good he is and just run a line and do whatever you want and he is going to hit you and find you at the right time and place, so I’m just loving playing off him as well, to be honest."
When Frizell succumbed to an injury, Renton was one of the guys who knew he would need to step up.
"Losing Shannon in the warm-up was big for us.
"We had a brief yarn and just said we have to nail what we’ve been nailing all week but actually step up a bit more because losing Shannon is massive for our ball-carrying game ... and getting over the advantage line."
Renton recorded a career-best bronco score earlier this year, but tore a calf muscle during the pre-season and missed six weeks.
But he quickly got up to speed and has backed up with two top performances.
It was easier to show up to work yesterday having posted a win as well.
"For the first couple of days you have to celebrate a win but then it is straight back to the next task."
That next task is the Fijian Drua in Dunedin on Saturday.
The Drua are a much-improved outfit. They have had two wins and went close against the Reds as well.
The Fijians played an exciting and sometimes unpredictable brand of rugby which was a challenge when you were a defence coach, Dillon said.
"I think they are definitely fitter, they’ve had longer together and also more skin in the game — they’ve had a year in the competition," Dillon said.
The Drua like to counterattack from broken play and pounce on turnovers, of which the Highlanders have made plenty so far this season.
"The big thing around that is the transition plays and turnovers. And they’ve got a lot of free kick moves and like to take a free kick wherever they are on the field."
