The Highlanders have got the skids as their season is now well and truly over courtesy of a big 33-7 defeat at the hands of the Waratahs.  This follows two disappointing losses against the Lions and Force that the Highlanders would have won if they played like they did earlier in the season.  The Highlanders started strong in the 2011 Super Rugby competition, but like previous years their campaign has ran out of steam.  It is funny though because the Highlanders could well finish 8th overall at the end of the 2011 season which would be considered a success, but we must remember that their campaigns were considered failures since 2002 when they made the semi finals.  While they have improved on the last three seasons 11th (twice) and 12th placings, they finished 9th in 2004, 2006 and 2007 and 8th in 2005.  While you may think their 8th place is better than 9th over recent times, we must remember that the most recent additions to the competition like the Force, Cheetahs and Rebels have struggled to trouble the scorers too much making 8th this season out of 15 teams an improvement on the last three years, but I don't see it as much of an improvement on the troubled seasons before that.  They will most likely finish above two other New Zealand teams.  This shows that the New Zealand conference was tough, but that there are four good South African teams for a change and two good Australian teams if you can count the Waratahs, so the strength of the competition is no longer just in New Zealand.

The physical style of the Highlanders and the length of the season took their toll on the southern men who lack a bit of depth and struggled with injuries in key positions.  Losing Colin Slade to injury really cost them, but I think there are some good signs for the future of the Highlanders going forward.  They have re-signed the bulk of their 2011 squad, retained their coach and have a new stadium and strip.  This is exciting times for the team.  This gives the fans a great excuse to show up to matches next season.  It is refreshing to think that it is the Hurricanes and to a lesser extent the Chiefs having issues which could mean they enter the 2012 season without much experience.