Replacement out-half Ciarán Frawley landed two late drop goals – both from over 40 metres out – as Ireland fought all the way for a 25-24 win over South Africa in Durban’s Shark Tank.
Marking Andy Farrell’s 50th Test match in charge of the team, they claimed only Ireland’s second ever Test victory over the Springboks on South African soil to draw a hotly-contested series one-all.
Farrell’s men had over 70% possession inside the opening quarter of an hour and made it count, with Conor Murray slipping through for a slickly-worked 13th-minute try, adding to an earlier Jack Crowley penalty.
Ireland were still 10 points up at half-time, with Crowley knocking over two closing penalties for a 16-6 lead. Captain Caelan Doris was sin-binned early in the second half, and the World champions got on a run thanks to Handre Pollard’s accurate place-kicking.
Pollard knocked over six penalties in a 20-minute period – he finished with eight out of eight – to give South Africa a 24-19 advantage. Crowley nailed a long-range 58th-minute effort in response.
Up stepped Frawley in only his sixth international appearance, all coming since last August. He made it a two-point game again with a peach of a kick in the 69th minute, and repeated the feat right on the 80-minute mark to spark jubilant scenes at the Kings Park venue.
Farrell’s four changes from last week – Murray, Garry Ringrose, Rónan Kelleher, and James Ryan – all produced big performances, and the physicality, intensity, and improved execution saw the tourists recapture their best form from earlier in the year.
To make those improvements in a short turnaround, and with some regular starters missing, speaks volumes about this Ireland squad’s mentality and will to win. They finished a long international season on a high, beating the ‘Boks for the fourth time in five meetings.
Hooker Kelleher set the tone with a bone-crunching tackle on Kwagga Smith, who received Crowley’s kick-off. That physical edge helped Ireland to get off to a strong start, while South Africa had to cope with some early disruption.
A head injury saw Willie le Roux go off permanently, and both second rows, Franco Mostert and Eben Etzebeth, had to have blood injuries tended to, with Mostert then hobbling off in the 16th minute.
Crowley had kicked the visitors ahead in the fifth minute, punishing Etzebeth who was caught offside. Apart from mistiming a challenge on Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, last week’s debutant Jamie Osborne was looking assured again, particularly under the high ball.
Both James Lowe and full-back Osborne used their powerful left boots to good effect. Recovering from an overcooked Crowley kick, Ireland upped the ante in attack. Kelleher was first to an overthrown South African lineout, and Osborne then countered well from a kick.
A Joe McCarthy charge through into the opposition 22 was followed by Kelleher also getting over the gain-line. Under pressure from Robbie Henshaw, Pollard had to defend a cross-field kick from Crowley.
Farrell’s side kept coming, Doris and Andrew Porter leading a big surge back from the goalline drop-out. The defence splintered in the middle, with Crowley’s deft inside pass releasing Osborne through a gap, and he fed Henshaw who sent Murray over from 15 metres out.
Credit to Kelleher for drawing the attention of Frans Malherbe to help create the opening, and Crowley’s straightforward conversion made it 10-0. South Africa hit back with a scrum penalty, allowing Pollard to split the posts with his first attempt.
Still, Ireland continued to look the more threatening team with ball in hand. Lowe used his power and pace to get past Cheslin Kolbe and Bongi Mbonambi, showing his dexterity to keep the attack going, with fellow winger Calvin Nash also carrying with menace on the right.
Nonetheless, the Irish scrum was coming under more pressure and leaking penalties. Smith also charged down a Crowley kick, leading to a try-scoring opportunity which was thwarted by Osborne’s scrambling tackle, allowing Ringrose to retrieve possession.
The Springboks had a prolonged spell inside the Irish 22, nearing the interval, but could only put three points on the board. Despite McCarthy disrupting their maul for a well-won turnover, the subsequent scrum set up Pollard to double his tally from the tee.
With their lead cut to four points, Ireland squeezed in a couple of important late scores. Pieter-Steph du Toit was guilty of obstructing Henshaw as he chased a kick, and Crowley kept his 29-metre shot inside the right hand post.
Pollard’s restart went too long, giving Ireland a scrum back on halfway. Lowe’s perfectly-weighted kick, combined with a very effective chase from the hungry winger, forced the South African out-half to concede a five-metre scrum.
Du Toit made a crucial tackle to stop Doris from scoring off the set-piece, and although Porter was also kept out, Crowley tapped over a close-range penalty to send Ireland off at the break with a double-digit cushion.
Although boosted by two lineout steals from Ryan, Farrell’s charges had more defending to do early in the second period. Feinberg-Mngomezulu, le Roux’s replacement at full-back, was looking dangerous on the counter.
Osborne covered Faf de Klerk’s attempted grubber kick, yet South Africa maintained their presence inside the Irish half. Henshaw was whistled up for hands on the ground at the breakdown, and Pollard duly closed the gap to 16-9.
The Springboks built further momentum on the back of Doris’ yellow card for a croc roll on Malcolm Marx. Pollard’s reliable right boot made it a one-point game by the 52nd minute, with Tadhg Beirne narrowly missing out on a turnover penalty.
An RG Snyman offload sparked an attacking flurry, at the end of which Pollard had edged his side in front. The hosts suddenly had the scoreboard in their favour, and their bench was a big factor.
However, the sight of Doris returning, and tour captain Peter O’Mahony also coming on, was a timely boost for Ireland, as was Crowley’s best place-kick of the night, drained from just outside South Africa’s 10-metre line for a 19-18 advantage.
Pollard had the ‘Boks back in front on the hour mark, although replays suggested that there was no knock-on from Nash before McCarthy was penalised for offside. Half-backs Frawley and Caolin Blade were both on at this stage.
An eighth successful penalty from Pollard, this time from the left wing following a scrum penalty, put five points between them. There were still 15 minutes left on the clock, and both sides had opportunities to add to their tallies.
Frawley’s nimble footwork kept a Pollard kick in play, and Beirne’s impact at the breakdown drew Ireland back into try-scoring range. Although Cian Healy was held up, South Africa conceded from the drop-out when Frawley drilled over a terrific 45-metre drop goal.
There was further encouragement when Osborne tackled Kolbe into touch, and Blade cleverly drew a penalty from Kurt-Lees Arendse a few phases later. Lowe also calmly collected three testing high balls in quick succession.
Ireland had to show their resilience as the home crowd raised the decibel level when Henshaw put too much on a pass which went into touch, and Frawley overcooked a cross-field kick from inside his own half.
Crucially, a Marco van Staden knock-on gave the Six Nations champions scrum possession inside the final two minutes. Building from deep, replacement Stuart McCloskey led a wraparound move that put Frawley into some space for a threaded kick downfield.
It was brilliantly executed by the Skerries man, forcing Feinberg-Mngomezulu to concede a lineout. Beirne’s jump at the front led to strong carries from Doris and Ryan Baird, and Blade fizzed a pass back for Frawley to coolly take on the mantle of match winner.
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