With the Super Rugby semi-finalists now decided we take a look at those teams who missed out. Next up, the Highlanders.
After bowing out in the semi-finals last year, the 2015 champions were – like most New Zealand teams – expected to mount a serious challenge for the title in 2017.
Jamie Joseph relinquished the coaching reins at the end of last season to take up an offer as Japan's head coach. This meant that Tony Brown, who was Joseph's assistant from 2013 to 2016, took over the Highlanders' head coaching position for the 2017 season.
The men from Dunedin's campaign started with a narrow defeat at home against the Chiefs and they were on course for victory in their next match against the Crusaders but threw away a 27-6 lead before eventually losing 30-27 to the seven-time champions.
They then headed to Auckland to take on the Blues and finally got their first win – albeit it narrowly – but things went pear-shaped in their next match – a 41-15 loss to the Hurricanes in Wellington.
Although it was still early in the season, three defeats from four matches meant there was pressure on Brown and the rest of his coaching staff but that soon disappeared as the Highlanders went on a nine-match winning streak from the end of March until early in June.
They started with back-to-back wins over the Brumbies and Melbourne Rebels, the latter result being the first of three victories in which they notched a half century of points.
After that win, they beat the Blues and Sunwolves before putting 50 points on the Stormers in their Round 10 clash. They then launched a stunning fightback to beat the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, trounced the Bulls narrowly in Pretoria and secured their third win by more than 50 points when defeating the Force in Perth.
The Crusaders proved to be their nemesis again, however, when they claimed another last-gasp win which ended the Highlanders' winning run, although they rounded off their regular season campaign with a deserved win over the Reds in Dunedin.
That meant the Highlanders had to travel to Christchurch for the quarter-finals to take on the Crusaders, who beat them for the third time in as many matches in 2017, although the 17-0 result was a more one-sided affair than their previous match-ups.
That brought the Highlanders' campaign and Brown's reign to an end, as he is set to join Joseph as part of Japan's coaching staff with a new head coach for the Dunedin-based outfit yet to be appointed.
Assistant coach Scott McLeod has also left after being roped in as a defence coach for the All Blacks while the franchise also parted ways with popular players like Malakai Fekitoa, Marty Banks and Patrick Osborne, who are leaving to join Toulon, Treviso and Kubota Spears respectively.
Best player: Although there were players who made more appearances during the season, one man who played consistently well for the Highlanders and who cemented his place in the run-on side was inside centre Rob Thompson. The 25-year-old's calmness under pressure and creativity on attack helped forge an impressive midfield combination with Fekitoa. Thompson was a standout performer on attack and scored five tries during the season but also set up numerous others for his team-mates with his impressive skill-set.
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