Ciaran 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 following a similar effort just 10 minutes earlier. Andy Farrell ’s side 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.
Flawless fly-half Handre 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 Ireland number 10 Jack Crowley to secure a statement success from Farrell’s 50th Test as head coach. “It’s mental,” Frawley told Sky Sports after a remarkable victory.
“The place is like a fortress, it’s so loud. Today was going back and forth, they had momentum for most of the second half, but the boys dug in deep. I’m delighted “The lads that came on added a real impact.
There was a really positive vibe, which we needed, and the subs were made at the right time. It’s been 55 weeks on the bounce, a long old season, but we’ll look to go back and get even better. We’ve got a lot of learnings from this series and we’ll go again.
” The extraordinary twist came at the end of an und.
