Otago ground out a 27-23 win over Northland in a game with plenty of errors and lots of poor options.
Herring admitted it was not a great one to watch, but he was happy to come away with the victory.
"These sort of wins can actually carry some momentum into your season. It was not pretty watching and there was lots we could critique about it, but we came away with the win," he said.
"In games like that, that is what you take away from it. We didn’t play that well but we got a win."
He praised the defensive efforts of his side’s forwards around the ruck, and said they stood strong when sides were attacking in the fringes.
As for the time with the ball, Herring said the side was not patient enough.
"We probably did not nail things often enough. Just did not execute well enough and were running the similar lines. We would create the opportunities and get the chances, but then we would turn it over and they would sweep down the field."
Prop Aki Seiuli suffered a serious knee injury early in the second half and was taken to hospital after the game on a stretcher.
His knee was bent back when in a breakdown, and it looked a nasty injury. Herring said it was a serious injury and the future did not look good for Seiuli.
Coming out of the bruising battle last night, the Otago side would now rest and look forward to the derby against Southland in Invercargill next Saturday.
Herring said the side was looking around for another lock after losing Josh Larsen for the season.
Mitre 10 Cup
The scores
Otago 27
Dylan Nel, Jona Nareki, Joketani Koroi tries; Josh Ioane 3 con, 2 pen
Northland 23
Tamati Tua, Jack Debreczeni tries; Debreczeni 3 pen, 2 con
Halftime: 10-7 Northland
Crowd: 3500