The side recorded its fourth win in a row when it defeated the Rebels 27-3 in Melbourne on Saturday night and returned to Dunedin yesterday having bagged two wins from as many games from its stay in Australia.
The side beat the Waratahs 30-26 in the first game of its tour of Australia and then backed that up with a convincing win in Melbourne.
Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph was pleased with the win, which he said came through some tough tackling which had the Rebels failing to find any fire in their game.
"We put them under a lot of pressure and I thought our defence was outstanding,'' he said.
"We did a lot of tackling and they couldn't break through and it became a bit of an arm wrestle. But we managed to score some good tries and the guys who came off the bench really added to the effort.''
The line breaks were as rare as an uneaten Easter egg at a Teletubbies convention and the Highlanders kicked the ball a lot, turning the Rebels around and not giving them any territory.
"We kicked when the space was there and got them going backwards. We got a couple of good tries from kicks. There was a lot of space in behind them and the kicks found that space.''
Joseph was pleased with the approach of the side to pressure the Rebels' lineout and it paid dividends.
Its scrum was also in trouble and the home side could not launch much from set pieces.
Newcomer Jack Wilson scored a try on his Highlanders debut and Joseph said he was pleased with the new winger's effort.
"We thought we were going to be in trouble there when Waisake [Naholo] went down. But guys have come in and played really well. Matt Faddes played well when he came in. Ryan [Tongia] played well when he had his chance and Jack did well tonight.''
Joseph said Naholo was making progress and was expected back in about a month.
By scoring three tries to none, the Highlanders scored their first try-scoring bonus point.
Much has been debated about the switch to having to win by three tries or more rather than just scoring four tries, but a comparison to last year shows it has had little impact on the table.
The competition's structure in which some teams have a clear advantage over others in their playing schedule is more of a concern than a new bonus-point system.
Sitting in the playoff position after their five points on Saturday night, the Highlanders, though, are not getting carried away with their playing record.
Joseph knows a win over the Rebels does not mean a lot in the whole season.
There are some tough tests to come.
"It is a long season but we just want to get home and get back to play in front of our own fans. It is another hard game this week but that is part and parcel of the competition these days.''
The Force would have gained little confidence from its match on Saturday night against the Chiefs in Hamilton.
It was flogged 53-10 and collapsed in the second half against a Chiefs side which sits top of the New Zealand conference.
In other games, the Crusaders beat the Sharks 19-14 in Durban, the Brumbies downed the Cheetahs 25-18 in Bloemfontein, the Bulls edged the Sunwolves 30-27 in Singapore and the Stormers defeated the Jaguares 13-8.
In Brisbane last night, the Waratahs downed the Reds 15-13.
