Just a few centimetres were the difference between a last-second victory and a disappointing defeat for the the Bay of Plenty Development team against Auckland Under-21s played at Rangataua's Te Ariki Field on Saturday.
The young Aucklanders held a slender 13-9 lead going down to the wire, when the Bay's dynamic, attacking fullback Steven Honey latched on to a pass and made a dash for the match-winning try.
But to his dismay, and to the credit of the Auckland defence, a desperate dive shoved Honey into touch in the corner.
It was an eventful end to a game that struggled to reach any great heights, with the stiff end-to-end breeze causing plenty of issues. Bay had first use if it and ripped into their early work, buoyed by the senior team's magnificent victory over Auckland on Friday night.
Auckland took 15 minutes to get out of their half in anything like a meaningful attack, but all the hard work done up front by the Bay pack was wasted through conceding tackled-ball penalties and some misdirected passing in the backline.