Rugby is a team game played by a group of individuals.
So if the individuals play well then logic would suggest the team should do well.
But in Otago's case, it did not.
Looking at every individual player, it would be hard to pick anyone who played poorly right throughout the season.
Most played well in some parts of their game, while others were outstanding.
But why did those players not bring it together collectively for the team and get the results which would have seen them finish better than their eventual 10th placing?Playing in a 13-week competition like the Air New Zealand Cup, what is needed more than anything is consistency.
And therein lay Otago's problem.
Players would play well one week before falling off that peak in the following match.
Otago had too many players who would perform well for a match before going off the boil the next.
The record of not winning two games in a row until the end of the competition lays bare the inconsistency.
With the competition stripped for most of the time of All Blacks, and plenty of players plying their trade overseas, many of the players left behind are still learning about having to back up week after week.
Plus there are players who have been running around for a good few years who are simply not good enough to play well week in, week out.
Otago also had the misfortune to strike teams who played particularly well.
Taranaki and Manawatu played as well as they could in beating Otago in front of their home crowds.
In the middle of the season, Otago played Auckland, Canterbury and Hawkes Bay.
It had to win one of those, and get a couple of bonus points, to have any chance in the competition.
It ran Auckland close but then fell to a good Canterbury side, before having its worst performance of the season against Hawkes Bay.
The best player was fullback Ben Smith.
He improved as the season went on, and had a magnificent match against Waikato, setting up two tries and scoring another.
He fully deserved his All Black call-up.
First five-eighth Glenn Dickson also showed signs of promise while winger Ryan Shortland did little wrong and would not disgrace a Highlanders side.
Michael Witt is still learning the game.
Winger Karne Hesketh ran hard but his defence was inadequate at times, while Otago really needed a midfielder who could break the line.
Andrew Parata is a player of the future, and was discarded too early.
All Black Adam Thomson played well while Tom Donnelly's early-season form was rewarded with an All Black call-up.
But he had a couple of average games on his return.
Hayden Triggs won plenty of line-out ball but his game is still prone to costly lapses.
Captain Alando Soakai started well but tailed off, weighed down by the captaincy and a long season.
Paul Grant progressed and may have moved ahead of Steven Setephano, who personified the consistency problems of the team.
Up front, Otago was seldom bettered with Sam Hibbard having a good first year and Ben Nolan was solid.
Hooker Jason Macdonald brought up 50 games for the province and played better than last season.
