They have been overrun by the previously winless Bulls in Pretoria, surrendering a 10-5 halftime lead to lose 38-13.
"We'll learn some lessons from our second half," Highlanders co-captain Aaron Smith told South African broadcaster SuperSport.
"Our first half we felt like we controlled the game. We were able to build pressure, keep that territory battle, we were winning that, but we needed to capitalise on more points for the amount of time we spent in their half and 22."