 Hill praised Higginbotham for his "aggression and intent at contact".Throughout 2013, Higginbotham acted as fill-in captain for the injured Rebels' skipper Gareth Delve, and in 2014 Higginbotham was officially announced as the captain for the Rebels, a position he held for the remainder of his tenure with the club.In his final Super Rugby campaign at the Rebels, Higginbotham surpassed Owen Finegan as the leading try-scoring forward in Super Rugby history, and was awarded the 2015 Growden Medal Award for being the most consistent player among the Australian provinces.