Ciaran Frawley scored a clinical late goal as Ireland weathered a second-half storm in Durban to claim a stunning 25-24 victory and a 1-1 draw with South Africa.
Frawley came off the bench to break the post in dramatic fashion in the final act of a thrilling game at Kings Park, having produced a similar effort just 10 minutes earlier.
Andy Farrell’s side looked set for a shock defeat to back-to-back world champions when Conor Murray’s strike gave his side a 16-6 half-time lead. The Springboks won 27-20 in Pretoria last weekend, with perfect fly-half Handré Pollard converting eight penalties to tip the contest in their favour.
But Farrell added a staggering 14 points from Ireland No 10 Jack Crowley to ensure Farrell’s 50th Test as head coach was a statement success. The extraordinary turn of events came at the end of Ireland’s undisciplined second quarter, which saw stand-in captain Keiran Dorries sent to the bin.
It was Ireland’s second win on South African soil, which was all the more impressive considering they were without five first-choice stars. The injured duo of Dan Sheehan and Bundy Aki join the list of unavailable talent alongside fellow tour-side Jamison Gibson-Parker, Mark Hansen and Hugo Keenan.
As part of four personnel changes for the first Test, Farrell dropped his captain Peter O’Mahony to the bench and warned his players to expect South Africa’s performance to be seven days old “Twice” before. The hosts’ 23-man squad remains unchanged after beating Ireland for the first time since 2016, including selecting the most experienced starting 15 in the country’s history.
Springbok full-back Willy Leroux was forced off with a head injury, while team-mates Franco Mostert and Eben Etzebes were left with blood on their faces during a fiery start that saw Crawley Calmly scored a penalty.
Ireland’s physical start was well rewarded with a brilliant finish in the 14th minute. Smart play between Jamie Osborne and Robbie Henshaw opened up the home side’s defence, allowing scrum-half Murray to score again in Pretoria Diving to complete the score.
The bruising encounter showed little sign of abating, with Ireland’s Andrew Porter injured for the second consecutive week after Pollard’s penalty put South Africa on the scoreboard. Ireland were dominant but needed a crucial last-ditch effort from alert full-back Osborne meters from the try line after Kwagga Smith raced down Crawley to kick the ball. to stay ahead.
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Pollard and Crawley traded further penalties and Doris was stopped on the line by Piet-Stephen du Toit shortly before half-time. The Six Nations champions really should have converted their territory into the second try but had to settle for another three points of consolation from Crawley to end a tight first half with a 10-point lead.
South Africa then came out firing, reducing the deficit to four points after two Pollard penalties, the second of which came after stand-in captain Doris was booked for a crocodile roll on Malcolm Marx. of.
Poor discipline put Ireland under tremendous pressure and proved extremely costly in a huge shift in momentum. The Springboks took the lead for the first time in the 58th minute through Pollard’s sixth penalty, then quickly restored the lead with two more kicks from the same player after Crawley’s boot briefly stopped one-way traffic.
But Ireland remained close going into the closing stages and after struggling again, Frawley’s long-range strike reduced the deficit to two points. He then repeated the trick to a mesmerizing climax that shocked South Africa.
