The Highlanders grew a leg after halftime and ran away from the Bulls at Forsyth Barr Stadium last night to run out 27-20 winners and take a big step in the competition.
The Bulls were big and strong but the Highlanders stood tall and made the most of any chances which came along.
Importantly, once the side skipped clear in the second half it did not go to sleep and made some fine hits on defence. The Bulls scored a consolation try after the fulltime hooter had sounded.
It was backs-to-the-wall stuff at times by the home team but it never flinched once against a Bulls side which was big and bruising.
The Bulls did not help themselves with some poor ball handling and their vaunted rolling maul was about as useful as a juicer at today's Hyde St party.
The Highlanders got lower at the breakdown and the Bulls appeared to tire as the game went on.
The visiting side tried to attack in the final quarter of an hour but some real guts and determination from the home team kept it out.
Best for the home team was hooker Liam Coltman, who appears to be getting into his work after a slow start to the season, while Gareth Evans worked hard for the time he was on the paddock.
No 8 Elliot Dixon got around the field, while halfback Aaron Smith was accurate in all he did.
Lima Sopoaga again put in a top effort and centre Malaki Fekitoa was a stand-out.
The scrums were once again a mess. Referee Rohan Hoffman did not appear to like much about the Highlanders front row and proceeded to award penalty after penalty in the dying stages.
After four minutes, winger Patrick Osborne ran the ball back hard and made some yards before in-passing to No 8 Elliot Dixon who continued the move. After the ball went right it came back and Fekitoa found a gap, drew the last man and blindside flanker Evans sprinted 20m untouched to score.
Then 10 minutes later, the ball came to Fekitoa 20m out and he ran back on the angle, went over a tired Bulls forward and scored under the posts. With Sopoaga's conversion the Highlanders had skipped 14 points clear in as many minutes.
When the Bulls put the kick-off out on the full, the writing was on the wall.
The Highlanders had not fired a shot in the opening 15 minutes as the Bulls had all the ball and turned that possession into a six-point lead with two penalties from Jacques-Louis Potgieter.
The home team finally got some ball and broke out from the 22m line and it ended with Aaron Smith being pushed out in the corner after some nice hands by the backs.
The Highlanders stayed on attack and Sopoaga knocked over a handy penalty. But just past halfway through the first half the Bulls scored a quality try.
Halfback Piet van Zyl went down the blindside from a scrum 30m out and put in a delightful chip kick which was swallowed by chasing Bulls winger Bjorn Basson, who had a clear run to the line.
Potgieter's simple conversion gave the Bulls a handy 10-point lead.
The Highlanders were struggling to get anything going and it came out of the blue when they scored a try just after the half hour mark.
The home side threw long from a lineout and second five-eighth Shaun Treeby took the ball, split the defence, and then threw the ball to Sopoaga who went over. The ball travelled forward between the pair but it had been propelled forward by a Bulls defender.
Sopoaga converted his own try and five minutes later added a penalty to tie the score at 13-13 at the break.
Highlanders v Bulls: The scores
Highlanders ... 27
Lima Sopoaga, Gareth Evans, Malakai Fekitoa tries; Sopoaga 3 con, 2 pen
Bulls ... 20
Bjorn Basson, Marcel van der Merwe tries; Jacques-Louis Potgieter 2 con, 2 pen
Halftime: 13-13
Crowd: 10,090
