It is a horrible cliche in sport but 2008 represents the very definition of a fresh start for the Highlanders.
Gone is the coach, Greg Cooper, after four years of middling results that went some way towards picking up the pieces from the civil war of 2003 but never threatened to restore the lustre to a fading franchise.
Gone is captain and hooker Anton Oliver, the most-capped New Zealand player in the history of the Super competition.
And gone are, oh, about 20 other players, including premier prop Carl Hayman, injured-and-possibly-set-to-retire All Black lock James Ryan, All Black prop Clarke Dermody, veteran lock Filipo Levi, outstanding flanker Josh Blackie, that chap Evans who made a useful first five and a handful of other players discarded by the new regime.
You could flap on about rebuilding but that is a tiresome phrase that has no place in the elite ranks of professional rugby.
It seems the Highlanders have been rebuilding for five years, and people have had enough. They want results. Or failing that, a team that is enjoyable to watch. Neither has been forthcoming in recent years.
Rather than tinker with what he had left, new coach Glenn Moore elected to go with the clean-sweep approach. He axed stalwarts like Charlie Hore and Matt Saunders, and discarded the heavily-debated Highlanders draft policy.
He scoured the provincial ranks for uncovered talent and hauled in a swag of new names, principally in the backs, who represented no fewer than 10 provinces in the last Air New Zealand Cup.
What Moore has got now is a fascinating collection of rejects, misfits, rookies, journeymen and complete unknowns. If that sounds a bit cruel, it is nothing compared to the labels being slung south by members of the northern rugby press.
The thing is, this could all work in the Highlanders' favour. There is nothing that motivates a team quite like being written off, and the Highlanders' chances of doing even remotely well this year have been dismissed by all and sundry.
Points to prove? Too many to mention. You've got a coach who few people know about, a couple of ex-All Blacks who want back in black, proud semi-veterans who are fighting for their places, and a dozen newcomers who are thirsting for a taste of the big time.
Let's start with the forwards, as all good rugby sides should. The pack has obviously been gutted by defections and yet the Highlanders first-choice eight is actually bigger than last year's.
Ryan and Levi will hardly be missed, as Tom Donnelly is fit again and fellow locks Isaac Ross and Hayden Triggs, both 2m tall, are good pick-ups from the draft.
Jamie Mackintosh and Clint Newland are both 1.9m, 130kg props. Mackintosh is the future and Newland - who you would most definitely not want to meet down a dark alley - is a fearsome physical presence who can do more than just deliver a shuddering straight right.
Jason Macdonald might not have Oliver's pedigree but he is a wholehearted player, an accomplished line-out thrower and an increasingly vigorous presence around the field, and we may see him continue to blossom as he captains the side in the early rounds.
There is still no massive gamebreaking Highlanders loose forward, no Sione Lauaki to terrorise opposition defences. But Steven Setephano is a goodlooking prospect at No 8, Adam Thomson will relish the chance to stretch his long legs if the game opens up under the new rules, Alando Soakai is looking fitter than ever, and Hoani MacDonald, Tim Boys and Craig Newby will not shirk the dirty work.
If the forwards have a familiar, blue-collar look about them, the same can most certainly not be said about the backs, where halfback Jimmy Cowan and winger Lucky Mulipola are the only regular starters left from last season.
As usual, much revolves around the form of Cowan. He was at the peak of his game in 2007, named the New Zealand Super 14 player of the year and desperately unlucky not to make the World Cup.
If Cowan can add a touch more running to his leadership and magnificent defence, he will again figure in Graham Henry's plans. Then there are those blokes with 10 to 15 on their backs.
Their backline has not really fired in years but the Highlanders, even if they do not have household names in their ranks, believe they can offer a bit more this season.
Daniel Bowden is a genuinely exciting recruit for the Highlanders and Otago, and it is to be hoped he settles quickly into the demands of the first five position.
Outside him, Johnny Leota, Niva Ta'auso and Brett Mather should create a little more punch in midfield, Mulipola developed well last year, Paul Williams is fit and eager to prove he is no one-season wonder, and James Wilson continues to develop.
The big hope, though, is Fetu'u Vainikolo, the winger from Northland who could provide just the sort of lethal finishing the Highlanders have wanted for ages.
All Moore has to do, then, is draw together this disparate group of men, give them a game plan that suits their abilities, and find a way to combat the star power, experience and nous of the 13 other teams.
This is not a coach to be underestimated. Moore is relatively unexpressive in public but inside him burns a determination to succeed, and to have his men play for him with pride in who and what they represent. My guess is he will wring the absolute most out of the material he's got.
Outside the results - which are obviously paramount - there is a real opportunity for this Highlanders side to win back some fan support.
Cult heroes could emerge. It could be the shaven-headed Macdonald, the massive Mackintosh, the intimidating Newland, the gangly and skilled Ross, the mop-headed Thomson, the cheeky Bowden or the electric Vainikolo.
Throw in some good results and the crowds will come back to Carisbrook. The Highlanders have a mixed draw. Over the last six weeks of the tournament, they play last year's four semifinalists, so it is imperative they start well, bank some points and get their confidence up.
A trophy, or even a semifinal place, might be a touch optimistic. But this could be a team that surprises a few people. Or if it all goes horribly wrong, at least it will have tried.
