Dunedin came to life in the second spell to win an error-ridden game 42-12 at Kettle Park.
But it had the home crowd scratching their heads when it led only 9-0 at the break, despite having a monopoly of ball from set pieces and playing with the wind advantage.
The only points in the first spell came from three penalty goals by fullback Liam Edwards who added four conversions in the second spell to score 17 points.
In the first spell, Dunedin knocked the ball on nine times and also coughed up ball with 11 forward passes.
Zingari had more players committed to the breakdown and blew Dunedin away at the ruck and maul.
Dunedin held on to the ball for more phases in the second spell and was rewarded with five tries.
Loose forwards Hugh Blake and Gareth Evans were the pick of the Dunedin forwards and lock Anthony Diack and hooker Finnbar Boyle had tidy games.
The best of the backs were Edwards, wing Daryl Caldwell and centre Tumua Ioane.
The best Zingari forwards were the experienced Chris Bell at No 8 and flanker Kris Miller. The inside pairing of Enoka Taufua and Jonnie Hughes had strong defensive games.
- Dunedin 42 (Daryl Caldwell, Hugh Blake, Gareth Evans, Anthony Diack, Kai Daniels tries; Liam Edwards 4 con, 3 pen), Zingari-Richmond 12 (Kris Miller, Colin Enright tries; Ben Bradley con). Halftime: 9-0. Referee: Ryan Palmer.