The Highlanders rallied to beat Moana Pasifika 26-21 in a warm-up match in Albany yesterday.
The game was played across three 30 minute periods.
It was the perfect opportunity to give everyone a run and experiment with combinations.
The teams were tied 7-7 after the opening half-hour.
The second period saw Moana Pasifika pull ahead 21-14.
But Highlanders winger Michael Manson scored near the posts in the final play to seal victory.
The game was not broadcast or live streamed. But assistant coach Clarke Dermody was reasonably happy with what he saw from the sidelines.
"It was physical and they where at home on their training ground, so they were definitely up for a physical challenge," he said.
"We scored in the last play to win, so it was good to be able to play for the whole game.
"We had to work it out of our half and keep a hold of it."
Loose forward Sean Withy impressed with his work rate and was the best of the forwards.
Co-captain and winger Timoci Tavatavanawai also made an impact in the last two blocks of 30 minutes.
"We’ve been training pretty hard for eight weeks now, so it was good to play a game of rugby. And it was good to see a few of our plans come into play.
"The effort and intent was there from our boys.
"There is just some tidying up needed around our accuracy before we play the Crusaders next week in Invercargill."
That match is the final warm-up game before the Highlanders open their Super Rugby Pacific campaign against the Waratahs in Sydney on February 14.
Another pleasing aspect of the game was that there were no fresh injuries.
Super Rugby warm-ups
The scores
Highlanders 26
Hayden Michaels, Hugh Renton, AJ Faleafaga, Michael Manson tries; Cameron Millar 2 con, Faleafaga con.
Moana Pasifika 21
Solomon Alaimalo, Patrick Pellegrini, Tuna Tuitama tries, Pellegrini con, William Havili con, Jackson Garden-Bachop con.
