This was much closer than it should have been but at least the Highlanders have won their first game in a long, long time.
They nearly blew a commanding lead, they spent part of the game down to 14 men, they made a questionable decision not to kick for goal at a crucial time, and they played at a near-empty Carisbrook.
But they are victors, for the first time this season, and their bruised egos and battered bodies will feel that much better this morning.
It was a fractious game, blighted by the negative tactics of the Lions and the unfortunate period of the second half when the Highlanders fell to bits.
It really was the most extraordinary collapse.
The second half had started so well when the Highlanders extended their lead, taking just 30sec for fullback Paul Williams to accept a quick throw and run 45m virtually untouched for a try.
Perhaps it was the worst thing that could have happened to the Highlanders.
They immediately blew two line-outs, both of which led to Lions tries, had winger Fetu'u Vainikolo sin-binned for a late shoulder charge, and gave up a third try.
‘‘We tried to force things a little bit. I think everyone was getting a bit frustrated and we needed to stay more composed,'' Highlanders coach Glenn Moore said.
With their lead cut to one, the Highlanders could have gone back into their shell and let the game slip.
They made a strange decision not to kick for goal with 15min to go, but James Wilson landed a nice penalty a few minutes later, and replacement midfield back Aaron Bancroft scored the fourth and decisive try with 4min to go.
It was the Wilson and Johnny Leota show in the first half.
The five-eighth combination, built from Southland and Manawatu parts, was able to flourish thanks to the superb foundation set by the big boys up front.
A good scrum has been a regular part of the Highlanders' landscape for years. Even after a complete overhaul, with All Blacks flying the coop and rookies coming in, there is a feeling no-one will come to Carisbrook and have an easy night up front.
There were plenty of reset scrums in the first half but in the ones that counted, the Highlanders were brutally dominant.
Two in particular stood out. One had Clint Newland driving up and over highly-rated Lions loosehead Heinke van der Merwe, and the other saw Jamie Mackintosh destroy Eugene Maqwalena's confidence.
‘‘I was delighted with our scrum. We knew their loosehead was a very good scrummager and we worked on how we could negate that,'' Moore said.
‘‘I thought the boys put them under a lot of pressure on their ball.'' Given front-foot ball, the Highlanders had plenty of opportunities to run into space.
They were still lacking in accuracy, and pushing passes too often, but when they had two opportunities to score tries, they took them.
After just 10min, Wilson found Craig Newby who in turn flicked a delicate pass to Leota for the first try.
From another good scrum after 30min, Wilson held the ball up beautifully and gave Leota the clear run to the line.
The Highlanders missed another try when Vainikolo scrapped his way through three defenders but was ruled to have lost the ball over the line.
It was far from a perfect performance from the Highlanders. But it is at the stage of the season where they really don't care. They have halted a six-game losing streak and climbed off the bottom of the Super 14 table.
The citing commissioner could be in action after an incident where Lions prop Ross Geldenhuys appeared to knee Mackintosh in the head.
Highlanders 29 (Johnny Leota 2, Paul Williams, Aaron Bancroft tries; James Wilson 3 conversions, penalty), Lions 20 (Jaco van Schalkwyk, Walter Venter, Willem Alberts tries; van Schalkwyk conversion, penalty). Halftime: 14-3. Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia).
