It was the first time the Chiefs had won their season opener for some time.
McMillan said he was happy for the win against a Highlanders side that always provided some anxiety for opponents, and that had been the case again on Saturday.
It had been scrappy at times, and there were some lineout issues, but he wasn't pushing the panic button, and it was something he put down to the early-season nature of the game.
Co-captain Brad Weber agreed on the scrappy play. It was the first game back for several players, and they felt a little rusty.
“I guess that's all a part of coming back late and not getting some pre-season time. We'll be right by next week and it was good to get that one out of the way.”
McMillan said they would prepare as usual for their next game against Moana Pasifika. All the signs were that they would be able to play, and it was a game they were looking forward to.
Highlanders coach Tony Brown said it had been a tough game first up, and the side had given away too many penalties in the first half.
"Our execution, making sure we are holding onto the ball and our discipline, making sure we are not giving away silly penalties to keep the opposition in our half," he said.
"All the guys on debut did well, Josh Timu had an outstanding game and was probably the best back on the field, if not the best player, so I'm pretty stoked for him on debut.
"The Chiefs played good rugby and did well around holding the ball, keeping us under pressure and a couple of good scrum tries," he said.
Vice-captain James Lentjes said the performance had been messy. They did some good things, but errors let them down.
Like Brown, he felt discipline was an issue, especially the number of penalties conceded.
That left them struggling to build pressure. The Chiefs played a physical game, direct rugby, he said.
"They were just little things so hopefully, we can tidy that up for next week. I think we played well in patches, and for whatever reason, we left the pressure off with our errors.
"So, if we get rid of those errors we will build good pressure on teams and be able to score more points," he said.