Otago under-19 made too many mistakes to scuttle a juggernaut like Canterbury.
The visiting side capitalised on some early errors and eventually won 45-17 at the University of Otago Oval on Saturday.
Despite the gulf between the sides, coach Seilala Mapusua found plenty of positives.
His side rallied in the second half and showed some potential out wide when it got good ball.
But the red and blacks were the stronger team and the margin was a fair reflection of the game.
"They are really well drilled and typically had really good systems," Mapusua said.
"They put us under the pump quite early and it was not until late in the first half that we were able to regroup and gather a little momentum.
"We came back strong in the second half but they are a pretty slick outfit."
Every time Otago made a mistake, a Canterbury player pounced. It was efficient around the breakdown, as expected, but Otago planned for that and contested the area reasonably well.
"It was just some basic mistakes which let us down.
"But when we were able to get it to the wider channels we were able to make good inroads there."
Promising Otago cricketer Llew Johnson came on at first five-eighth early in the second spell and made a big difference with his attacking kicking game.
The 18-year-old played three twenty20 games for the Volts last summer and is regarded as a bright prospect. But Mapusua likes what he sees, as well.
Canterbury had some discipline issues during that period and lost two players to the bin.
"We were able to capitalise but needed to get more points on the board while we had the numerical advantage."
Midfielder TeeJay Ane and No8 Henry Bell had impressive games, while winger Sam Jones scored Otago’s only try.
Otago’s plays Tasman at the University of Otago Oval this weekend. Tasman beat Southern 46-7 on Saturday and shapes as a tough opponent.
• In the co-educational southern regional top-four playoffs, St Kevin’s College beat South Otago High School 21-20, while Gore High School was too strong for St Peter’s College. St Kevin’s will host Gore High School in the regional final this weekend. The winner of that match will host the South Island final, against Rangiora High School, the following weekend.
