The Magpies had dominated most of the match. They led 17-3 going into the final quarter of the game.
But Kaikorai roared back with two converted tries and took the lead through a Ben Miller penalty.
Southern faded badly but were presented with an opportunity to snatch a late win.
They had back-to-back 5m scrums and their pack had been utterly dominant. A pushover try seemed a very likely outcome.
Veteran No 8 Mika Mafi controlled the ball nicely at the back but grounded the ball short.
Southern’s second shunt stalled. They cleared the ball to the midfield and were stopped inches from the line.
Lobb was not convinced Kaikorai found a legitimate escape hatch.
Mafi was tackled early and ‘‘maybe that should have been a penalty try’’, Lobb said.
‘‘You ask 10 people, five might say it’s a penalty try, five might say it’s not.
‘‘I guess the frustrating thing is that we went to the second scrum and we weren’t allowed to have another try. We got told to use it.’’
The scrum was held up and referee Jackson Brierly instructed Southern to use the ball.
‘‘Yeah, look, I’ve asked for feedback, so I’m still waiting to hear back. But yeah, it is what it is,’’ Lobb said on Tuesday afternoon.
‘‘We can’t put it on the ref. We should have probably been better for the last 20. That’s on us. We’ll learn from that. We’ll move forward.
‘‘It is frustrating, but it’s like no-one wins anything in the first round, right? It’s nothing to panic about.
‘‘We showed enough good signs that, if we get it right, we’ll be there or thereabouts come the end of the year.’’
Southern could have opted to kick for goal and gone for the draw instead. But Lobb said he backed the decision to opt for a scrum given how productive that set piece had been throughout the game.
The Magpies play the much-improved Alhambra-Union at the North Ground tonight.
The Broncos put up a good fight against Taieri last weekend but lost 28-15.
Taieri play Harbour at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Zingari-Richmond had the bye last week, but will get their campaign under way against Green Island in the late game at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Green Island edged Harbour 17-7 in their opener at Miller Park.
University made an impressive start. They dispatched Dunedin 52-31 at Kettle Park and will host Kaikorai in arguably the game ofthe round.
