There is something there.
Those four words are a little vague, granted. But they appear to form the essence of a rather surprising groundswell of optimism surrounding the Highlanders despite them having just wrapped a season in which they finished dead last in Super Rugby.
Last! The dreaded wooden spoon.
As we have previously highlighted, the Highlanders had not landed that most unwelcome silverware since 1997, when they still had "Otago" in front of their name, and their three wins matched the club’s record low set by the teams of 1997, 2008, 2010 and 2013.
No rioting around Forsyth Barr Stadium? No frenzied dissection of the playing roster? No (gasp) tough questions being asked about whether revered coach Jamie Joseph has it in him to work miracles again in his second stint in the hot seat?
Not remotely, not particularly and not at all.
The clear impression in recent weeks is that Highlanders Nation feels things are actually tracking not too badly, and that there might be the makings of a decent team, despite the lowly finish, in the South.
There are probably three reasons for that.
The first is that the Highlanders were mostly extremely competitive this season.
Seven of their 11 losses were by seven points or less, and the heavier defeats often came down to one bad 15-minute patch or a couple of key moments.
A pair of heavy losses to the Chiefs illustrated the gap to the best team in the competition, but otherwise it was hard to argue the Highlanders were really that much worse than, say, the sixth or seventh teams in the competition.
A second, and most interesting, factor in the goodwill surrounding the Highlanders is that they played some pretty good rugby.
They were not particularly adept at playing winning rugby, no. But their style of play suggested they had some good ideas and, with time, could turn promise into success.
One statistic that jumps off the page is metres gained, in which the Highlanders led all of Super Rugby with 6829m, while they were also second in defenders beaten with 366.
Those numbers suggest they played some excellent rugby and created opportunities. The fact they scored fewer tries than any other team highlights their inability to make it count.
Finally, and this has really been rammed home in the past 10 days, there is a feeling that Joseph and his staff are building a team of men who will give everything for the jersey.
Players want to be here. Look at the contract extensions recently signed by class acts Timoci Tavatavanawai, Fabian Holland, Caleb Tangitau, Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens and Ethan de Groot.
They would have entertained offers from plenty of other teams but they chose to remain Highlanders men. That has to mean something.
If Highlanders fans — and some of us in the media — are honest, we all got a little carried away after the first three rounds of the season.
The Highlanders gave the Waratahs a real fright before losing by a point in Sydney, they produced one of the club’s all-time heroic performances to roll the defending champion Blues in Dunedin and they played some glorious rugby before clinging on to beat Moana Pasifika on the North Shore.
Happy times, daring to dream, and all that.
But it proved to be the falsest of dawns.
The Highlanders lost their next four games, completing the set of defeats to Australian teams, and after a professional win over the Fijian Drua at the stadium, they finished the season with six consecutive losses.
There were the usual injury concerns, though hardly any worse than most of the other teams, but broadly speaking the issue was more about a lack of experience and composure, weaknesses in a couple of crucial positions and a lack of enough genuine attacking weapons.
The front row went OK, though there was a patch where the scrum fell off the pace and none of the hookers really shone.
Fabian Holland was fit and fantastic at lock, and partner Mitchell Dunshea was strong and consistent.
Loose forward Veveni Lasaqa made a big impact in his first Highlanders season, Sean Withy was again a tireless campaigner and TK Howden started to shine after a slow start, but the Highlanders sorely missed dynamic No8 Hugh Renton, restricted to four games after playing just three last season, while Nikora Broughton and Oliver Haig also had injury-plagued years.
Nathan Hastie was a revelation at halfback in the first half of the season before oddly being frozen out, and Folau Fakatava mixed the good with the bad.
Both will likely be challenged hard next year by New Zealand under-20 star Dylan Pledger.
The No 10 jersey remained a conundrum.
Joseph built his first great Highlanders team around playmaker Lima Sopoaga but he has some work to do to develop — or recruit — a player of similar ability.
Ex-Crusader Taine Robinson was a surprise starter in the opening rounds, and while he played well in parts, his form tailed off.
Cameron Millar had more time on the bench than expected and also suffered a brutal concussion against Moana Pasifika, and his confidence seemed to be affected.
Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens got up to speed to fullback after making an emotional recover from a broken neck, Caleb Tangitau was electric on the wing before succumbing to a groin injury, Jona Nareki was looking sharp before also being sidelined and Jonah Lowe finished the year strongly.
There is, clearly, the core of a reasonable team at the Highlanders.
The challenge for Joseph and company now is making some of these players better, adding a couple of key roster pieces and ensuring this season will be remembered as a blip.
Those wooden spoons work better when they get handed to somebody else as quickly as possible.
Meikle’s awards
Most valuable player
Timoci Tavatavanawai.
Too easy.
The Highlanders co-captain made a stunning transition from wing to second five, and after initially being seen as a stop-gap in the position, he became a permanent midfielder. He was the Highlanders’ iron man (the only player to start all 14 games), he led Super Rugby in defenders beaten (78, a whopping 25 more than the next best) and he was second in offloads and third in carries. Staggeringly, he led all players with 26 turnovers, ahead of loose forward stars Du’Plessis Kirifi, Fraser McReight and Ardie Savea. That is just not normal for a back. Tavatavanawai was deservedly named in the Super Rugby team of the season on Monday night.
Honourable mentions
1. Fabian Holland was a relentless force at lock and the most dominant tackler in the competition.
2. Caleb Tangitau played only seven games, but six tries and numerous sizzling breaks made the winger the most exciting Highlanders recruit in a generation.
3. Sean Withy played all three loose forward positions and never let his standards drop. He remains a vastly under-rated player.
Best performance
The 29-21 win over the Blues in the second round could not have had more drama as the Highlanders clung on with 13 men. It also featured a career performance from exciting youngster Finn Hurley.
Worst performance
No obvious candidate. There were two one-sided losses to the Chiefs — the best team in the competition, to be fair — and a heavy defeat at home to the hated Crusaders is never pleasant. The 34-29 loss to Moana Pasifika was deflating, particularly as it involved a late charged-down kick that led to the winning try. But perhaps I will go for the 29-20 loss to the Force in Perth. The Highlanders started well but went scoreless for the final 54 minutes. Summed up their season.
Questions for 2026
1. The biggest stars have extended their contracts but which new faces will Joseph chase for the 2026 season?
2. Could Chiefs back-up Josh Jacomb be the man to wear the No10 jersey?
3. Any chance of getting Crusaders tyro Ioane Moanunu to Dunedin to play hooker?
4. How many players in this year’s squad will be cut loose?
5. Ethan de Groot finished strongly but is it reasonable to expect the big prop to be more consistently dominant given his status in the team?
6. How much better could the Highlanders be with a healthy Hugh Renton, Caleb Tangitau and Finn Hurley?
7. Will Timoci Tavatavanawai and Fabian Holland start next year as established All Blacks?
Highlanders
2025 season
• Record: Played 14, won 3, lost 11, 332 points for (23.7 per game), 422 points against (30.1 per game), last in Super Rugby.
• Leading tries: Caleb Tangitau 6, Jonah Lowe 6, Sam Gilbert 5.
• Leading points: Gilbert 89 (5 tries, 14 con, 12 pen).
• Most appearances (subs in parentheses): Timoci Tavatavanawai 14, Fabian Holland 14 (1), Saula Ma’u 14 (3), Veveni Lasaqa 14 (4), Soane Vikena 13 (5), Sefo Kautai 13 (10), Sean Withy 12, Ethan de Groot 12 (2), Sam Gilbert 12 (5), Will Stodart 12 (9), Tanielu Tele’a 11 (3), TK Howden 11 (2), Mitch Dunshea 11 (1), Jack Taylor 11 (7).
• Team stats: 43 tries (last), 79 clean breaks (8th), 1731 carries (4th), 6829m gained (1st), 366 defenders beaten (2nd), 87.1% tackle rate (5th), 86.7% lineout rate (4th), 93% scrum success (6th).
