North Otago will head into the Heartland Championship off the back of a 36-15 win over Otago Country in a hard-fought game in sloppy conditions at Outram on Friday night.
The heavy rain ceased just as the teams ran out of the sheds, but the damage was already done as the field resembled more of a puddle with slight grass covering.
North Otago flew out of the blocks and opened the scoring early through midfielder Aleki Morris-Lome.
The Old Golds looked to spread the ball at every opportunity, but the weather soon scuppered that idea as handling became an issue for both sides.
Otago Country found themselves in the red zone thanks to a weather-related mistake at the back and managed to cross the line through skipper Max Pennell.
Morris-Lome then had his second try in almost a carbon copy of the first as North Otago found superior numbers in the outside channels.
The forward battle was even and both sides took turns at controlling a messy breakdown.
North Otago were, however, vastly superior at scrum time which resulted in several penalties and a territorial advantage, which they converted into points with a try to winger Mone Samate after a delicate cross-field kick by new first five Vilimoni Koroi.
On the stroke of halftime, another huge scrum by the Old Golds led to a penalty try being awarded to make it 24-10 at the break.
The opening stages of the second half were evenly poised as both sides spurned opportunities to score.
North Otago went away from their initial plan of trying to go wide and decided the way forward was through the middle, but Otago Country defended stoutly and chopped down many ball runners before the advantage line.
The Old Golds’ size and determination eventually paid dividends, and they scored the first try of the second half through halfback Tini Feke, who benefited from a tidy 8-9 move to cross close to the posts.
This try was followed closely by another, this time to captain Rory Bartle, who charged his way over from close range to extend the advantage.
As both benches were emptied, the game seemed to grow another leg and the ball was given slightly more air than before.
Otago Country, boosted by some energy off the bench, began to make metres and force mistakes and penalties from a tiring North Otago defence.
Their perseverance was rewarded with a try to replacement midfielder Sylvester Reeves.
Both sides gave their all until the final whistle, at which stage few could tell the teams apart due to the slightly moist conditions.
Preseason rugby
The scores
North Otago 36
Aleki Morris-Lome 2, Tini Feke, Mone Samate, Rory Bartle tries, penalty try; Lucas Ollion con, Inoke Naufahu con
Otago Country 15
Sylvester Reeves, Max Pennell tries; Tyler Ford con, pen
Halftime: North Otago 24-10.
— Francis Parker
