The Otago Whalers face an uphill battle if they are to make the final of the South Island competition after they were beaten 52-22 by Canterbury A in Christchurch on Saturday.
The Whalers now have to win next week's home game against the West Coast Chargers, beat the Tasman Titans the following week and hope other results go their way if they are to have any chance of improving on last year's third placing.
Whalers coach David Reedy said although Canterbury A won by 30 points, his players took "huge positives" from the game and they were "champing at the bit" for the Chargers match.
He was confident his team could turn around its form and get back-to-back wins in the coming weeks.
Reedy said the Whalers started Saturday's game well by completing their sets and putting in good kicks on the final tackle, which was something they had worked on a lot at training after last week's opening loss to the Southland Rams.
The intensity and speed at which Canterbury A played the game was "a bit of a shock" for his team, but the Whalers adapted well and scored two first-half tries, to co-captain Manassah Kutia and second-rower Dexter Buchanan.
The Whalers trailed just 16-12 at halftime, but despite winger Gruelyn Taitua and Buchanan grabbing tries, Canterbury A's superior fitness showed through in the last 20 minutes.
Reedy said the combination of a limited three-team winter competition in Dunedin and an eight-week break before its pre-season game two weeks ago put Otago on the back foot.
Still, he was "incredibly proud" of the performance, particularly the goal-line defence.
The Whalers were not helped by a player pulling out with sickness during the week.
Because of university holidays, no replacement could be found, so they had to play with a three-man bench.
Reedy said players to stand out included second-rower Jury Arthur and prop Jermaine Stone.
He said Arthur ran hard at the line and Stone "got through a mountain of work and bent the defence back all day". Standoff Ben McKerchar kicked three goals from four attempts.
In the other game, the Southland Rams made it two wins in a row when they beat the West Coast Chargers 32-18 in Greymouth. The Tasman Titans had the bye.
