Ciarán Frawley coolly landed a last-gasp drop goal as Ireland weathered a second-half storm to pull off a stunning 25-24 victory in Durban and secure a 1-1 series draw against South Africa. Frawley stepped off the bench to split the posts in dramatic fashion with the final action of a thrilling encounter at Kings Park Stadium after a similar effort only 10 minutes earlier. Andy Farrell’s side had looked set to slip to an agonising defeat to the back-to-back world champions after Conor Murray’s try helped reward a ferocious first-half display with a 16-6 lead.
The flawless fly-half Handré Pollard slotted eight penalties to turn the contest in the Springboks’ favour on the back of their 27-20 triumph last weekend in Pretoria. But Frawley sensationally added to 14 points from the Ireland No 10, Jack Crowley, to secure a statement success from Farrell’s 50th Test as head coach. The extraordinary twist came at the end of an undisciplined second period from Ireland during which the stand-in captain, Caelan Doris, wassent to the sin bin.
The victory is only Ireland’s second on South African soil and even more impressive given they were without five of their first-choice stars. The injured duo of Dan Sheehan and Bundee Aki joined tour absentees Jamison Gibson-Park, Mack Hansen and Hugo Keenan on the list of unavailable talent. Farrell dropped his skipper, Peter O’Mahony, to the bench as part of four personnel changes from the opening Test and warned his players to exp.
