Otago Country suffered its fourth straight defeat this season when it was comprehensively beaten by Canterbury Country at Lincoln on Saturday.
Poor defence, especially in the second half, and some set-piece issues again proved the downfall for Otago Country.
In the first half, the visiting side played some excellent rugby and put together some solid periods of play, managing two tries.
Openside flanker Blair van der Voort and wing Tyler Bichan were the two players to touch down, while first five-eighth Stu Melville kicked a penalty and a conversion.
At halftime, Otago Country trailed just 22-15. But it went slightly pear-shaped after the break and coach Roger Cotton blamed the leaking of points on poor first-up tackles.
Canterbury Country lock Mark Stanbury, winger Pate Natoba and fullback Sam Westenera each bagged a double, while Leon Simpson and Darryl Lambourne also crossed for tries.
Otago Country's only second-half points came from a Melville penalty.
Cotton was disappointed with the second-half effort but stressed that his side was young and that it was a big leap from club rugby to representative rugby.
''It was a bit disappointing, really, because we have been working hard on defence. We've got a lot of young guys and they're just getting their heads around the step up,'' Cotton said.
Otago Country captain Will Hurst, playing at No. 8, had a solid performance and was the man of the match, while hooker Dylan McKenzie and second five-eighth Danny van der Voort also had strong games.
The team's next match is a home encounter with North Otago Development in Wanaka this Saturday.
It was a better weekend for Otago Country's under-14 team, which beat Otago Metro 18-7 in Alexandra.
Beau Meehan, Thomas Howell and Morgan Jones scored tries for the Country side, which celebrated its first win over the city team.
Otago Metro won the under-16 clash 53-0, after leading 31-0 at halftime. Metro captain Slade McDowall scored a hat-trick of tries, and Stu Baker and Mitch Pryde each scored two.
Otago Metro won the under-18 clash 18-5. Thomas Johnson scored a try and kicked eight points for Metro.
Country rugby
The scores
Canterbury Country 49
Mark Stanbury 2, Pate Natoba 2, Sam Westenera 2, Leon Simpson, Darryl Lambourne tries; Shannon Donald 3 con, pen
Otago Country 18
Blair van der Voort, Tyler Bichan tries; Stu Melville con, 2 pen
Halftime: Canterbury 22-15.
