Discipline went out the window, along with some basic skills, as Otago was beaten 32-30 by Northland in Whangarei last night.
Backing up from a gutsy and memorable win over Auckland last week, Otago was well below that high level in a match with plenty of spilt ball and poor option-taking.
Otago was behind 19-6 at the break and two minutes into the second half conceded another converted try to be facing an uphill climb equivalent to scaling Mt Everest in sandshoes.
The visiting team gave it a shot in the second half and managed to get a bonus point, scoring a try two minutes into injury time to close up the margin.
The Otago discipline was poor throughout and it would have been a travesty for the home team if it had lost. Otago made too many errors and just went that metre too far with the ball, failing to find much space.
Captain James Lentjes was yellow carded for a high tackle on the half hour mark and then replacement loose forward Slade McDowall also cooled his heels, copping a yellow card for the umpteenth penalty against Otago for offside.
McDowall was lucky he did not get a second yellow card near the end after an ugly clean-out at a ruck.
Northland goalkicker Peter Breen helped himself to 22 points, not missing one of his eight attempts, but Otago only had itself to blame for giving Breen so many opportunities.
Not only did the side give away penalties, but it gave them all away under the shadow of the posts.
To even things up, Northland replacement loose forward Kara Pryor was yellow carded for an early tackle with just over 10 minutes left.
Otago coach Cory Brown said the conditions were very tough - it had rained most of the day in Whangarei and the ground was very slippery.
''But our discipline was poor and that put a lot of pressure on us. They got away to a good lead and we were always chasing the game,'' Brown said.
''But we came back well and for 30 minutes in the second half we dominated territory and possession. We had a chance to win it near the end but it was not to be.''
Brown said some of the rulings on offside were tough, but Northland challenged hard in the breakdown, upsetting Otago continuity.
No 8 Sione Teu damaged his shoulder, while hooker Sam Anderson-Heather took a blow to the quad.
Just the one try was scored in the first half and it could have been Otago's instead of the home team.
Otago left winger Jona Nareki made a burst through the middle but halfback Josh Renton, who had a very forgettable first half, found Northland second five-eighth Jack Goodhue instead of an Otago player when a try looked possible.
Goodhue simply turned around, linked with a couple of players and it ended with a try to Northland fullback Solomona Alaimalo 70m down the field.
Best for Otago were Lentjes and lock Josh Dickson, while centre Josh Timu did nothing wrong in his starting debut.
Otago has just three days to recover before it takes on Wellington in the capital on Sunday.