Northland's Under-19 side have been narrowly pipped at the post, going down 23-22 to Southland in their opening match of the Jock Hobbs Memorial National Under 19's tournament in Taupo yesterday.
Coming close against the defending championship division winners, Northland coach Mark Wells said the top two inches of Southland's performance proved the difference.
"We started well and blew them away at the start but just a couple of errors throughout the game sort of kept them in striking distance," Wells said.
"The boys were absolutely gutted. The level down here is really a massive step up, our boys are stepping up each week but the top two inches let us down."
The Northland Under-19s now play the Heartland XV on Wednesday, before playing their final fixture this weekend.
