Otago lost its third Mitre 10 Cup Championship final in seven years when it was defeated 36-13 by Waikato in Hamilton.Otago coach Ben Herring said his side failed to get much going in the match and paid credit to a good Waikato team.
"They were superb in everything they did. Sometimes you’ve got to acknowledge how well the other team played and they were just fantastic," he said.
"But I was super proud of the way the boys tried really hard and the way they have played all season."
He said there could always be speculation on the impact the previous two games had on the side but Otago was simply beaten by a better team.
Once the side started chasing the game, things had to go its way and that did not happen, mainly due to the efforts of the home team.
Herring told his team after the match it was part of the game to taste defeat like that and the players needed to realise what happens, happens and just get back on the wagon when next season comes around.
He thought the side may have had a sniff when it scored its only try early in the second half but Waikato scored straight from the kick-off which was an indication of the dominance and momentum of the home team.
Captain Michael Collins said after the game the side was disappointed with its performance and it just could not get any flow into its game.
The team tried to free up the game in the second half and throw the ball around but the Waikato players simply tackled like demons and were very aggressive at the breakdown.
Otago lost to Counties-Manukau in the 2012 final, North Harbour in 2016 and notched an unwanted hat-trick with the defeat in Hamilton last night.