And still the drought continues for Southland in the Mitre 10 Cup rugby championship.
After the opening quarter against Counties Manukau on Saturday, the plucky southerners looked on course to break a winless run stretching back almost two years - October 8, 2016, to be exact.
Tries to number eight Bill Fukofuka and prop Morgan Mitchell, both converted by first-five James Wilson, had the home side 14-0 ahead and gave the Invercargill faithful hope that a 14-game losing streak might come to an end.
In less than 10 minutes, those dreams were dashed, as flanker Fotu Lokotui, fullback Luteru Laulala and halfback Te Aihe Toma crossed in rapid succession for tries - the first and last converted by first-five Latiume Fosita.
With momentum now squarely behind the Steelers, they took a 19-14 advantage into the half-time break and completely squashed any chance of a Southland comeback, with three converted tries after the resumption.
The Stags clawed back some late pride, with two consolation tries down the stretch for a valuable bonus point. It wasn't a win though.
"That's what I've been happy with over the last month," Southland skipper Wilson told Sky Sport afterwards. "We are fighting right to the end, so I'm proud of the boys for that.
"There was disappointment in the middle of the game, where we let them in for easy tries.
"In patches, the boys played really well. We stayed on top of Counties from the get-go, but unfortunately we let them off."
Counties next host Wellington next Saturday, with Southland hosting neighbours Otago later that same evening.
Counties Manukau 43 (Fotu Lokotui, Luteru Laulala, Te Aihe Toma, Nigel Ah Wong, Joe Royal & Cardiff Vaega tries; Latiume Fosita four conversions; Laulala conversion & penalty) Southland 26 (Bill Fukofuka, Morgan Mitchell, Lewis Ormond & Nico Costa tries; James Wilson three conversions)
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