The Highlanders failed to overcome the late withdrawal of Waisake Naholo, as they slumped to a 38-29 defeat to the Lions in Johannesburg on Sunday (NZ time).
The All Blacks winger was set to play in his first game since round six against the Blues, but the coaching staff decided to give him another week to recover from his knee injury.
Both the Highlanders and Lions managed to score five tries, but the boot of Elton Jantjies kept the hosts in front.
In a seesaw first half the lead exchanged hands twice, with Sio Tomkinson and Tom Franklin scoring for the Highlanders, while Andries Coetzee and Kwagga Smith responded with tries for the Lions.
But it was the Lions who led at the break with Jantjies landing both conversions, compared to one from Highlanders pivot Josh Ioane.
The Highlanders were forced to reshuffle their backline as they lost midfielder Teihorangi Walden to a head knock, forcing rookie first-five Dan Hollinshead to play fullback.
The hosts were the first to score in the second half when flanker Smith grabbed his second of the game, but Aaron Mauger's side refused to budge was Jordan Hyland scored his first Highlanders try, and minutes later they regained the lead when Matt Faddes crossed the chalk.
Jantjies put the hosts back in front at 24-22 with 15 minutes to go, and they appeared to have sealed the win when Shaun Reynolds crossed the line in the final 10 minutes.
The Highlanders hit back with a long-range effort finished off by Josh Ioane to set up a thrilling finish, but the Lions had the last say as Courtnall Skosan try prevented the Highlanders from claiming a losing bonus point.
Jantjies landed all six of his kicks, while between Ioane and Hollinshead, the Highlanders only managed to kick two.
The result saw the Lions leapfrog their New Zealand opponents in the overall standings, with the South African side sitting sixth while the Highlanders are eighth.
Both teams are third in their respective conferences.
The Highlanders will remain in South Africa where they'll face the Stormers in Cape Town next week.
Newshub.
