There were not many people there. Probably about 250 on a cold June night.
But those who bothered to come would have had a front-row insight into what went wrong with the Highlanders this season.
That night, at Forsyth Barr Stadium, a Highlanders XV shorn of All Blacks and a couple of Southland players narrowly defeated a Southland invitational side, a team made up of Stags representatives and club players.
That they did not crush the Southlanders by a truckload of points showed why the Highlanders finished where they did.
Take away the All Blacks - most of whom were well off top form all season, anyway - and the rest of the Highlanders were decidedly average.
There were too many tradesmen, who just did not possess that extra 10% needed to play at this level.
That was especially so in the loose forwards, where so much of the game is won and lost. The Highlanders' loose forwards, none of them All Blacks, were too slow or prone to making errors, and when games were tight, those mistakes came back to haunt them.
The Highlanders played a possession-based game - the statistics prove that. But to do that, you cannot make basic mistakes and you need athletic, quick and talented loose forwards to keep the game going.
The Highlanders did not have them.
Far too often, the ball would be dropped or turned over, or the ball was too slow coming back. And when they lost the ball, the defence was not good enough. Or they only had 14 men on the field because of a dumb play or cheap shot.
They racked up more yellow cards than any other team. Poor discipline was an issue all season.
Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph had thought Adam Thomson would come back, and when the talented blindside flanker did not return, it was a massive blow.
Hard-running No 8 Nasi Manu then fell over in the first game and the Highlanders were up struggle street.
That could have been overcome if key players had got themselves into some sort of form. But the go-to guys suddenly went missing.
Halfback Aaron Smith looked out of sorts all season. Colin Slade was up and down, and his goal kicking was poor. Ma'a Nonu continued his completely awful run of efforts at Super 15 level, although he was not helped by a knee injury.
So, if the inside backs are struggling, the team is constantly short-handed because of poor discipline, and the loose forwards are not cutting the mustard, what eventuates?Losses.
The season started with eight straight defeats. It was a train wreck of a start that no-one saw coming.
During that miserable run, the Highlanders were still starting training at 9am on Sundays. Must be hard to get up and be flogged at that time of the morning after a loss on Friday night.
Joseph insisted the way to winning was hard work.
Hard work never hurt anyone but it hardly lifts morale.
The Highlanders' best performance was against the Blues, when they had trained just once in a week.
The first win after the run of defeats, over the Sharks, was somewhat lucky, as the Sharks searched for a try rather than a penalty goal near the death, but it was a night to savour.
No corner had been turned, though, as a fruitless trip overseas was to follow.
It all ended in an ugly manner as the Highlanders conceded 31 points in the second half to lose to the Rebels.
So what is going to happen now?Joseph is not going anywhere. A watertight contract sees to that.
His assistants may be on thinner ice but the franchise needs better cattle on the paddock. That is the No 1 priority.
A classy No 6 and a top-drawer winger come to mind.
Then the side must simply stop making mistakes. It does not matter how many All Blacks or X-factor players you have, or how many training runs are carried out - if players continually drop the ball or miss tackles, you will lose.
It is a simple game, rugby. Do the simple things well and you will succeed. Do them wrong and failure is never far away.
Unfortunately, the Highlanders learned that the hard way this season.
Highlanders in 2013
Statistics
Played 16, won 3, lost 13, finished 14th
Points for: 374
Points against: 496The Highlanders scored 40 tries, 38 penalties, 30 conversions.
Top scorer: Colin Slade, 121 points (21 penalties, 24 conversions, two tries)Top try-scorers: Hosea Gear 8, Ben Smith 6, Kade Poki 5.
Appearances (substitutions in parentheses): Ben Smith 16, Hosea Gear 16, Aaron Smith 16 (3), Thorn 15, Fia 15 (6), Hore 14 (2), Bekhuis 14 (1), Slade 14 (3), Hardie 13, Hoeata 13 (1), Tanaka 14 (11), Dixon 13 (8), Coltman 13 (11), Ioane 13 (6), Woodcock 12 (1), Emery 11 (4), King 10 (2), Nonu 9 (2), Wheeler 10 (6), Parker 10 (7), Tuiali'i 9 (1), Burleigh 8 (3), Ellison 8, Treeby 8 (1), Poki 8, Sopoaga 7 (5), Popoali'i 6 (4), Murray 7 (7), Paringatai 6 (3), Nemani 3 (1), Boys 3 (3), Mitchell 3 (2), Ensor 1, Renata 1, Manu 1, Rutledge 1 (1), Wilson 1 (1).
Hepburn's awards
Best players
1) Ben Smith
2) Brad Thorn
3) Tamati Ellison
Must do better
1) Ma'a Nonu
2) Aaron Smith
3) Joe Wheeler
Best performance: v Blues, won 38-28, Dunedin, June 1. Great first half in which the Highlanders had a four-try bonus point by halftime and cut the Blues defence to ribbons.
Worst performance: v Force, lost 19-18, Perth, May 25. Playing against a Force side made up of rejects and journeymen, the Highlanders bumbled their way through the game and then winger Tino Nemani had a brain fade to seal a loss.
Questions for 2014
• Will the assistant coaches be back and how much assisting did they do this year?
• Will the fascination with Japanese-based players continue?
Did anyone in Highlanders headquarters realise how badly this went down with fans?
Was there no midfield back in Otago or Southland better than 34-year-old Neil Brew?
• Will Ma'a Nonu come back?
Do the Highlanders even want him?
• Is next year the last hurrah for the head coach?
