Hansen, along with his fellow assistant coach Wayne Smith, was in Dunedin yesterday catching up with Highlanders coaching staff and players.
It was part of the regular cycle of visits the All Black coaching staff carry out throughout the Super 14 season.
Hansen said the Highlanders season has been hard hit by injuries, which many people had underplayed.
"I'm sure they would have liked to have done better. But they haven't been helped by injuries and at this level that can make a big difference," Hansen said.
"But they should be particularly proud of their performance against the Hurricanes last week. They played pretty well."
Hansen said the Super 14 was very tight and someone had to be in the lower reaches.
"The way it is, someone has got to finish 12th. There is not much between things going right for a team and things going wrong."
It was a black weekend for New Zealand Super 14 sides, with only the Hurricanes winning.
Hansen said it was not just the fact that the New Zealand sides were not performing, but how well the Australian and South African sides were playing. However, he felt the Super 14 did not have a great bearing on the next level up.
"History shows that what is played out in Super rugby does not make much difference when it comes to test rugby."
Last year, three New Zealand sides made the semifinals of the Super 14 yet the Springboks won the Tri-Nations, while in 1998 three New Zealand teams made the semifinals yet the All Blacks went on to lose five tests in a row.
Hansen said the new rule interpretations were working in a positive way and he expected the same sort of style seen in the Super 14 to find its way into test rugby.
There was less kicking which was a good thing, he said.
By and large most All Black players were performing well, while there was other players who had put their hands up.
The All Blacks coaching team was about a month away from getting into proper action, and Hansen said he was looking forward to it.
Hansen had been re-instated as forwards coach after being the attack coach on the northern tour last year, and he was happy to get back into the engine room.
