North Otago coach Mike Mullins said his side can hold its head high from yesterday's match, although the speed and skill of the Auckland game was at a different level.
Mullins, in his third year as North Otago coach, said at half-time he told his players they could not miss as many tackles as in the first half, and needed to knock the Aucklanders over.
He said at least they did not lose by more than 130 points, a reference to the 1993 challenge when Auckland defeated North Otago 139-5.
North Otago captain Ross Hay said the side initially struggled to adjust to the pace and width of the Auckland game.
"I think we were grouping too much and not spreading out for them. But that is from not being together for long enough. This game will help us later in the season."
Hay, who played in losing Shield challenges in 2000 and 2003, said although the Auckland team was big, it was still 15 players against each other on the paddock.
"But they've had a couple of weeks together while we've only had a couple of training runs and I think that told."
Auckland coach Pat Lam said the game was a worthwhile exercise, both on and off the paddock, pointing to the large crowd at yesterday's game.
On the field, he said the side had taken a step up from last week, when it had beaten Poverty Bay 56-3, and had succeeded in holding on to the ball, a focus of yesterday's game.
Players were starting to understand the Auckland pattern.
The side had lost 16 players from last year's squad, with a combined experience of 650 first-class games, so there were plenty of holes to fill.
Auckland plays Tasman in Nelson this weekend, in its last warm-up match before the start of the Air New Zealand Cup.
Lam said Auckland first five-eighth and the star of yesterday's game, Lachie Munro, had been with the team for three years and was slowly learning how to run the game.
Lam was pleased with the form of rejected All Black Isaia Toeava and intended to play him, as he did yesterday, at fullback for the upcoming competition.
