South Africa – Ireland 24:25: Ciarán Frawley’s last-second dropkick gives Ireland a famous win in Durban

After suffering the bitter blow of a missed drop goal in Leinster’s recent Champions Cup final defeat to Toulouse, Frawley came off the bench to show nerves of steel to score two late drop goals and score the last kick to secure victory in a thrilling game in Durban.

At the end of rugby’s longest season, Ireland will make the long journey home from South Africa with a draw in the bag after a stunning performance that spoke volumes about the character and quality of this team.

For only the second time in history, Ireland beat the Springboks on home soil as Andy Farrell’s side sought an impressive recovery from last weekend’s first Test defeat following their 2016 victory.

This is exactly what Farrell would have asked of his players if he was playing his 50th game as Ireland head coach. They gave it their all and produced a remarkable performance full of energy, aggression and class.

Farrell made no secret of his frustration in Pretoria and the Irish head coach got the reaction he wanted, feeling fully vindicated in his team line-up for that memorable victory at a roaring Kings Park.

Conor Murray’s try in the first half had put Ireland ahead, but before Frawley stepped in, it seemed as if the Irish had paid a heavy price for the numerous penalties.

Ireland captain Caelan Doris once again played a great game until he tipped the balance back in the hosts’ favour with a yellow card in the 47th minute.

Frawley’s superb dropkick ten minutes from time brought Ireland back within touching distance before the Skerries native repeated the trick at the last minute.

Led by the impressive Joe McCarthy, Rónan Kelleher, James Ryan and Doris, the pack took on the hosts and Ireland fought as hard as they could to win in a physical exchange. A brutally physical encounter saw several players lose their blood, with the Boks suffering an early setback when they lost influential fullback Willie le Roux to a head injury before being replaced by towering centre-back Franco Mostert.

Ireland were far more dominant in the clashes following a rocket-like goal from Farrell during the week and were already on the scoreboard thanks to a Jack Crowley penalty when Murray scored on the goal line after a pre-rehearsed, complicated drop-out.

Doris was again central to the score as a powerful run down the midfield set the ball in motion for Andrew Porter, Crowley, Jamie Osborne and Robbie Henshaw to combine to put Murray under the bar for a stunning try.

Crowley’s conversion gave Ireland a dream 10-0 lead in the 15th minute, but it was quickly reduced when Handre Pollard scored a penalty and the hosts gained the upper hand at the scrum.

A blocked kick from Crowley almost led to a try for Kwagga Smith, but the Irish defence held firm and Osborne and Garry Ringrose helped to hold their line together.

Another great defensive series ended with a decisive ball win by Joe McCarthy, but another scrum penalty, this time to the head, led to a second successful kick by Pollard.

However, the Boks gave up those three points straight away when Pieter-Steph du Toit was penalised for blocking Henshaw on the ball, allowing Crowley to negate Pollard’s try.

Just before half-time, Osborne, his confidence growing with every minute, did well to play James Lowe free on the left and when Pollard carried the ball back over his own line, Ireland had the chance to extend their lead.

It took an incredible last-gasp tackle from Du Toit on Doris to keep Ireland out of the game before Ringrose lost the ball on a penalty. Rather than roll the dice, Crowley pointed to the posts and restored the 10-point lead (16-6) at halftime.

Ireland had another poor decision from Faf de Klerk to thank for South Africa’s failure to hit back immediately after the restart following a fiery counterattack by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Cheslin Kolbe.

Conceding three points was not the worst result, but it was made worse by Doris being sent off for a croc roll on Malcolm Marx and two penalties from Pollard bringing the Boks to within four points.

Playing with 14 players and under a lot of pressure, the Irish were starting to wear down and when Ryan was flagged for offside, Pollard was again there to punish the offence.

Ireland’s discipline was now a major problem after Andrew Porter recently clashed with referee Karl Dickson’s whistle when Pollard scored his sixth penalty to give his team their first lead of the game.

Farrell called for reinforcements and Peter O’Mahony’s first move was to force a penalty, which Crowley converted with nerve. But Ireland could not maintain control as two more Pollard kicks gave the Boks a 24-19 lead heading into the final quarter.

Ireland needed a last-minute save and thought they had made one but were stopped on the other side of the line. But Frawley had the last word, setting off wild celebrations with two beautiful strikes of his right foot.

Goalscorers – South Africa: Pollard 8 pins. Ireland: Murray try, Crowley 4 penalties, 1 try, Frawley 2 drop goals.

South Africa: W le Roux (S Feinberg-Mngomezulu 2); C. Kolbe, J. Kriel, D. de Allende, KL Arendse; H Pollard, F de Klerk (G Williams 44); O Nche (G Steenekamp 59), B Mbonambi (M Marx 46), F Malherbe (V Koch 46); E Etzebeth (RG Snyman 8-17), F Mostert (Snyman 17); S Kolisi (captain) (M van Staden 50), PS du Toit, K Smith.

Ireland: J Osborne; C Nash (C Frawley 59), G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J Lowe; J Crowley (S McCloskey 66), C Murray (C Blade, 59); A Porter (C Healy 57), R Kelleher (R Herring 65), T Furlong (F Bealham 44); J McCarthy, J Ryan (R Baird 57); T Beirne, J van der Flier (P O’Mahony, 57), C Doris (captain).

Referee: K Dickson (England).