They did a lot of good things on Friday night, and it can be fairly argued their last-minute 37-36 loss to the Waratahs actually represented a good performance against an Australian team stacked with star power.
But the feel-good factor after a decent effort can only last so long, and the Highlanders know they will need to be better if they are to topple the defending champion Blues at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday night.
Both sides scored five tries — most coming in a wild second half — in Sydney, and perhaps it was just bad luck that the Waratahs had possession last.
"It was sort of a rollercoaster, wasn’t it?" Highlanders assistant coach Dave Dillon told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
"The lead changed a number of times, so from a spectator point of view it was an entertaining game of rugby, but from our point of view it was sort of one that got away."
Dillon handles the defence portfolio, and he would have had plenty to review at the weekend.
The Highlanders had to make a staggering 173 tackles in Sydney — relentless flanker Sean Withy made 28 of them himself — and while most were clean, that amount of defending inevitably led to some issues, including sin-binnings for two players.
"You’re always looking for areas of improvement but I thought the intent from the boys [around defence] was great," Dillon said.
"Any time you get two yellow cards, you’ve got to look at your decision-making around the breakdown and the tackle.
"We’ll need to unpack that area and be better — not just the yellow cards but some avoidable penalties."
Dillon hailed the efforts of the seven players the Highlanders had making their first appearances in Super Rugby or for the team.
One, in particular, stood out.
Ex-Blues winger Caleb Tangitau scored two tries and was the game’s biggest attacking threat with 124m gained, seven defenders beaten and four clean breaks.
"I thought he was busy, he was pretty accurate in what he did, and he was unlucky to get a yellow card.
"In terms of what he brings to the team and the talent he’s got, I think he showcased that on Friday night."
There are no fresh injury concerns for the Highlanders.
The Sydney blockbuster, which followed the Crusaders’ 33-25 win over the Hurricanes, was part of an all-round entertaining start to the Super Rugby season.
Damian McKenzie scored two tries to lead the Chiefs to a 25-14 upset of the Blues at Eden Park, and flanker Luke Reimer scored two late tries as the Brumbies beat the Fijian Drua 36-32 in Suva.
Opening weekend finished with a barnstormer in Perth, where the Force scored two tries in the last four minutes to pip Moana Pasifika 45-44.
