'We didn't want to die wondering' - Herring

Ben Herring.
Ben Herring.
Otago coach Ben Herring had one overriding emotion following his side's 35-25 lost to Canterbury - pride.

He was disappointed, of course. But Otago explored all of its attacking options in hope of locking the Ranfurly Shield away for the season.

"I'm actually quite proud of them. When it [the Ranfurly Shield tenure] does come to an end you want to make sure you have thrown everything at it.

"There is no question about any endeavour our guys showed. I think we exceeded the expectations of a lot of people and played in a way which was exciting to watch and full of heart and soul.

"I'm really proud."

Otago's plan was to move the ball away from Canterbury's pack and exploit its pace out wide.

The visitors were prepared for it and did a good a job of smoothing the midfield.

Otago made some rushed passes which did not always land in friendly hands. Canterbury nabbed two intercept tries.

"They scrambled particularly well - and they did what they do quite well.

"The way we play is the way we played. If we toned it back for this game and it didn't work, then we'd be really disappointed. We didn't want to die wondering what we could have done."

Canterbury captain Luke Whitelock said it had been a great week and it was a tremendous match to be part of.

"It was a typical Shield game. Every time we pushed in front they pull back up alongside us," he said.

"They made us work really hard, right until the last minute.

"Those final moments were probably quite good from a spectator's point of view but for us they were a huge swing in momentum and emotion."

With that Whitelock departed to sing the team song and spray alcohol everywhere.


 

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