December has traditionally been a time for the franchise to focus on conditioning while offering a few warm fuzzies about the prospect of being competitive next year.
But there has been a distinct shift in attitude at the team's Logan Park headquarters.
The Highlanders don't plan simply to show up in 2010; they plan to win.
"It's really exciting," third-year coach Glenn Moore said as his players and management assembled yesterday.
"We've been through one-on-one interviews with every player and we're really encouraged by their enthusiasm.
"The big thing for us is that we have to prepare well, because there are big expectations in the side this year. We expect to convert close losses into wins."
Moore inherited a team two years ago that was shorn of about a dozen senior players, and has mainly rebuilt through the Super 14 draft, provincial loan-back deals and the explosion of talent in Southland.
He has made it clear the key to getting the Highlanders back to the top is building a core of experienced players and adding a little bit of fresh talent each year.
Understandably, it is easier for Moore to welcome back 20-22 players he knows well than it is to assimilate 10-15 new players.
"Most of our guys have been here before and they know what it's like to have to prepare and play at this level," he said.
"But the training we put them through is still damn hard. We've ramped it up again this year. We've already done some testing and the guys have come back in really good order."
The Highlanders will train until lunch-time on December 23, then get a small break before re-assembling in the New Year.
Time will then fly as they train, play an internal trial, get a pre-season run against the Chiefs and another opponent to be confirmed, and then open the season against the Crusaders in Christchurch on February 13.
The four All Blacks in Moore's squad - Jimmy Cowan, Adam Thomson, Tom Donnelly and Ben Smith - are not officially back until the middle of January, but captain Cowan is expected to pop in next week and Donnelly called Moore for a chat on Tuesday.
First-year Highlanders James Paterson, John Hardie and Robbie Robinson were not present yesterday as they were at a New Zealand Rugby Union rookie camp in Wellington.
The Highlanders family is soon to expand, with new lock Joe Tuineau and netballing partner Daneka Wipiiti expecting a baby any day, and flanker Tim Boys also due to become a father near Christmas.
