The team now goes into an important but difficult block of three matches before the break for the June international series.
Whether it has All Blacks Ben Smith and Luke Whitelock for all of the next three games is up in the air.
The Highlanders beat the Lions 39-27 at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday night to stay handy enough to the top of the Super Rugby leaderboard.
It was a good comeback from the side after a forgettable performance against the Sharks the previous weekend.
Mauger said the team performed well for large parts of the game.
"But I was a little bit disappointed we let them get so close, to be fair. I thought we could have put the foot on the throat and not let them score a couple of tries near the end of the first half," Mauger said.
"We probably could have stretched out and really seen the game out in the final five minutes [of the first half]. I think it was just a little bit of inexperience at times and allowed them into that part of the field."
Mauger said the side had started really well, backed its skills and the points had come.
A lapse in concentration let the Lions back into the game in the first half and that was something to work on.
But when the chances came the Highlanders took them and scored some nice tries.
"We did take our opportunities well and it is pleasing to see. I thought Kayne Hammington and Lima [Sopoaga] controlled things really well.
"It was good to see our outside backs really want the ball and Tevita Nabura, who hasn’t played for the Highlanders for a while, was outstanding. Good to see Waisake [Naholo] running hard on the outside."
Mauger said there was some good efforts on defence but the side just needed to work harder at times.
"The attitude on defence is definitely there. I think it is just about getting set a wee bit earlier and getting in the right space.
"When we do that we do well. But if we want to compete against the best teams and get where we want to go in this competition we have to be better again."
The side plays the Waratahs and then the Reds — both in Australia — before returning to face the Hurricanes at home on June 1.
The team will leave for Sydney on Thursday and then travel to Brisbane for the week leading up to the Reds game.
It will stay in Australia in between games as there was simply too much travelling time if it came home.
Mauger said Highlanders management said they had come to an agreement over the use of Smith and Whitelock over the next few weeks. The All Blacks have been stipulated to have two games off but Smith may be exempt as he is coming back from a sabbatical while Whitelock did not take a full part in last year’s northern hemisphere All Black tour.
In other games over the weekend, the Crusaders came from 29-0 down beat the Waratahs 31-29, the Sunwolves smashed the Reds 63-28, the Rebels downed the Brumbies 27-24, the Chiefs travelled to South Africa to defeat the Stormers 15-9 and the Bulls won over the Sharks 39-33.