It really was a stunning performance as the Highlanders displayed their attacking abilities with six tries, including three to Adam Thomson, and flexed their muscles in defence to keep the Melbourne boys from crossing the line.
Many will dismiss the performance because of the opposition's reputation as cellar dwellers but you only have to look at their recent results, like the close five-point loss to last season's champion Reds and their hard-fought victory over the Force two weeks ago, that prove that they are not the easybeats they once were.
The win, the Highlanders' fifth of the season, came at a ground where the boys have had a lot of success in recent seasons. Since 2003 the Highlanders have only lost once at Rugby Park Stadium, a four-point loss to the Chiefs in 2009, and have picked up nine wins after losing all four of their initial matches in the deep south.
After viewing the Highlanders' positive results in Invercargill it makes me wonder if it's worth playing more games away from Dunedin but at places still within the Highlanders' region. I know that it becomes difficult to sell season passes if the team is shifting around rather than being based at one stadium but surely they could allow for more than one home game to be played at a venue outside Dunedin. A perfect time to do it would have been this coming weekend for the match against the Stormers.
The team from Cape Town is the only undefeated side after six rounds of competition and the match against the second-placed Highlanders will be without a doubt the match of the round. But will Dunedin be able to produce a crowd to match? With university students being on holiday the Zoo will be shut and the fact that it will be Easter weekend will make it even harder to pull a big crowd.
Every Easter it seems like half the city makes its way to Central Otago so why not take the game to them? Queenstown has a venue capable of hosting top-level rugby and there would be no shortage of people in the area to fill the stands. Lights would be the only issue but what would be wrong with having the match kick off at 2pm? Obviously it's too late to do anything about it now but it might be worth considering for future years.
No matter where this weekend's match is played it will be a great game of rugby. I'm hopeful Dunedin can still turn out in numbers to support the Highlanders as they attempt to beat the Stormers and take the number one spot on the table for themselves. Schalk Burger and his men will be in the playoffs come the end of the season but even though that's a while away this will be a good test of the Highlanders' ability to produce the goods in the big matches. A test I know they can ace.