As far as goodbyes go, it was a very ugly parting of the ways.
The script did not go to plan for Otago at Carisbrook on Saturday as, playing the last game on the ground, it fell in a meek 19-12 loss to Southland.
There have been many great games involving Otago played at the ground and, sadly, this was not one of them.
In fact, the home side got nowhere near it, failing to get out of second gear and being far too one-dimensional in attack.
Otago second five-eighth Glenn Dickson admitted after the game the side was down about the result.
"It is hugely disappointing. In the first half we just defended all the time. We defended all right but it was just not good enough. It was a big day for us, and we were up for it, but we just didn't turn up," he said.
"Sometimes when you come into things like this they have the potential to overwhelm you but we have got some older guys in the team who have been there done that, so I think we were pretty calm going in. They just played better."
Dickson said the side had no ball in the first half and in the second half could not get past the Southland defence.
Southland skipped out to a 19-6 lead at the break, and had a monopoly of ball in the first half. Otago did not fire a shot on attack in the opening 40 minutes, never once getting within sight of the tryline.
Chasing the game in the second half, the home team lacked a spark and Southland just stood firm.
Otago did itself no favours in the second 40 minutes. Passes were not quite accurate enough, there was an endless procession of forwards smashing up ineffectively off the ruck, and a chronic inability to put a player into space.
Otago co-coach Phil Mooney said after the game the side did a lot of chasing in the first half.
"When we did get the ball, we tried a lot of 50-50 offloads, which when you haven't got a lot of ball you can't do. Then we were chasing it in the second half. They were able to slow the ball down in the second half as well."
Mooney said it was fairly obvious what was happening in the rucks in the second half and though he did not want it to sound like sour grapes, "they got away with a lot there".
On attack in the second half, Otago rolled out the barging forwards like a record stuck on repeat and it was meat and drink for the Southland defenders.
"Guys, through almost some overexuberance, stepped outside the system, and it then became a little bit predictable."
Experienced first five-eighth Tony Brown left the field at halftime but Mooney said that was a fatigue issue. He did not blame the loss on the side playing its third game in eight days.
With the defeat, Otago is down to third in the premiership. It now sits on 15 points with Manawatu (20) and Hawkes Bay (19) ahead of them, and has an eight-day break before taking on Waikato in Hamilton next Sunday.
Otago made the worst possible start when it dropped the ball at the kick-off and it was a sign of things to come.
Fullback Robbie Robinson scored the first try for Southland after just six minutes, skirting down a thin blind side.
That was followed by impressive flanker John Hardie breaking the line to score in the 26th minute, and halfback Scott Cowan scored with two minutes left in the first half, getting on the inside of a Robinson break.
Southland went to sleep in the second half but it did not really matter.
Hardie was a stand-out for Southland, while replacement hooker Liam Coltman was lively when he came on for Otago for the second 40 minutes.
THE SCORES:
Otago v Southland
• Southland 19
Robbie Robinson, Scott Cowan, John Hardie tries; James Wilson 2 con
• Otago 12
Glenn Dickson 3 pen; Hayden Parker drop goal
• Halftime: Southland 19-6
• Crowd: 12,567
