Mackintosh, the skipper of the side for the past two seasons, will play his 50th game for the franchise on Saturday night when the Highlanders take on the Waratahs at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
It has been a long road to the half-century for Mackintosh, who has had to overcome injuries, two seasons of just training, and playing in pain last year.
"I have been with the Highlanders for a long time. In 2005 I started training with them. The first two years I was just training and my first full year was 2007 and that was World Cup year and I only played two games," he said.
"I've missed about 15 games through injuries but I am extremely proud [of reaching the 50th] and looking forward to it. I have played 80-odd games for Southland now and I'm just proud to represent the region.
"The last two years for me have been pretty exciting down here, with taking over the captaincy and working with [coach] Jamie Joseph. I have worked really hard on my leadership and tried to better myself as a player," he said.
"I'm so proud of what these guys have achieved. It is more about our culture and our attitude towards the game and how we want to be as people.
"As far as the on-field stuff, it has been a great start, but they do not hand out gold medals in March."
"We have got to be pretty conscious of that. For us it is about consistency and being physical. It is about using our whole squad. That is something we learned last year"
But it has not always been success for the big prop and the Highlanders since he joined the franchise.
"Every year I have turned up we have made a conscious effort to win. No-one goes into an organisation and tries to do poorly.
"What we did last year was stripped back all the rubbish. We went down to Stewart Island as a leadership group and picked off all the scabs, the whole Southland-Otago thing.
"Now we have got a great game plan, and Jamie has driven a great culture down here. We wanted to create an environment where the Colin Slades wanted to stay and the Hosea Gears wanted to come."
There were plenty of highlights over his Highlanders career and last weekend's match against the Crusaders figured prominently.
"It was one of the most enjoyable Highlanders games I have ever played in, just with the atmosphere there and the crowd getting excited again ... we are just so lucky to have a place like [the stadium] that down here."
He said the wins over the Bulls in Palmerston North in 2009 and in Pretoria last year were also special.
Mackintosh had a four-hour operation in the off season. His abductors were released, his hips reshaped and his pubis bone drilled, and felt better already, having played in pain all last season.
The Southlander wore the All Black jersey in 2008 but has not broken back into the national side since, although it remains a burning ambition.
"I would love to get back in there and be part of that environment again. Obviously, my work-on is my scrum and I work really hard at it. At the end of my career, if I do not make the All Blacks again, then yes, I would be sad but I do not want to have any regrets about not working hard enough, about not giving it my all."
