South Africa 24 – 25 Ireland

Ireland’s Ciaran Frawley was the hero as his drop goal sailed over the goal in the dying moments to seal the famous 25-24 victory over the Springboks at Kings Park Stadium in Durban.

For Frawley, it was already the second drop goal since coming on as a substitute. With his goal in the 70th minute, he reduced Ireland’s deficit to two points with ten minutes to go.

After Ireland had built up a convincing 16-6 lead at half-time, a lack of discipline came to their aid in the second half when Handre Pollard’s penalty helped South Africa back to 24-19.

But then Frawley made his cameo appearance and as the momentum continued to build, he brought the game to 24-22 and then secured a dramatic win with a brilliant drop goal in the last minute, levelling the series at 1-1.

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Ciaran Frawley scores a drop goal in the dying seconds of an incredible test match finale that secures Ireland a famous victory over South Africa!

The game was Andy Farrell’s 50th Test as Ireland coach and Caelan Doris’ second Test as captain, with Peter O’Mahony on the bench.

The hosts won the first Test in Pretoria 27-20 and Rassie Erasmus named an unchanged South African team for the second Test, the most experienced Springboks side ever to take the field, with a total of 990 appearances.

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Irishman Ciaran Frawley scores a brilliant drop goal to reduce the deficit and put the pressure on South Africa again.

History of the game

Ireland came out of the match determined and were able to score early points through a penalty from Jack Crowley, with the strikers making a lot of meters in the early stages of the game.

Then things got better for the visitors, who were finally rewarded for their pressure: Jamie Osborne’s impeccable support play ended with Murray going under the bar and Crowley scoring to make it 10-0 after 15 minutes.

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Conor Murray scores a brilliant try to give Ireland a convincing early lead against South Africa!

The Springboks hit back with a Pollard penalty and began to gain some space, but Ireland won the small moments and kept the Irish at bay from close range, leaving South Africa with no choice but to convert a converted penalty in the 35th minute to make the score 10-6.

However, it did not take long for Ireland to score again: a penalty for obstruction in the 37th minute and another for offside in the 40th+2 minute were calmly shot over by Crowley, giving his team a 16-6 lead at half-time.

As is often the case, South Africa came out of the second half changed and were quick to get on the scoreboard through a Pollard penalty, reducing the deficit to 16-9. It didn’t take long for them to reduce the deficit further. Ireland captain Doris was shown a yellow card for a dangerous crab roll and Pollard was there again to reduce the score to 16-12.

The lack of discipline continued to cost Ireland dearly. When the Irish were again offside, Pollard punished them with a kick with just under half an hour to go, giving his team a 24-19 lead in the 64th minute. Ireland could only fight back with a conversion goal from Crowley.

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Handre Pollard scores and puts South Africa in the lead in a thrilling game against Ireland!

Then the big moment came for Frawley and since his team was unable to consistently carry out the attack, he wisely opted for a drop goal in the 70th minute and thus reduced the score to 24:22.

His skill continued to stand him in good stead and after sending a brilliant kick forward, Ireland’s lineout went straight into South African territory.

With barely a second left on the clock, Frawley kept his cool and sent the drop goal over the goal, sending the Irish players into a frenzy. South Africa attempted to feign obstruction of the opposition, but to no avail.

What they said: We won in a fortress | The rivalry is visible

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Ciaran Frawley stressed that he and his Irish team would learn a lot from their series in South Africa, but would first be happy with the dramatic victory that the Leinster centre’s drop goal gave them on Saturday.

Irish hero Ciaran Frawley …

“It’s crazy. The place is like a fortress – it was so loud.”

“The game went back and forth. In the second half they had the momentum under control for the most part.

“The boys really put in the effort. We were in our own half and managed to get up and get the last points. So we are delighted.”

“I’m just going to have a beer and enjoy it.

“We learned a lot from this game and this whole series and we will try again.”

Irish captain Caelan Doris …

“It was pure euphoria when we saw the ball sail over at the end.

“It went back and forth. It was two points, so we believed if we gained territory we could score.

“We knew what an incredible challenge it was to come here at the end of the season and play against the two-time world champions. We are certainly happy to end the game with a win.”

Ireland coach Andy Farrell …

“It certainly wasn’t perfect. At times it was just ridiculous. The first half was brilliant, the second half I thought was ridiculous for all sorts of reasons, but the character we showed is what sport is about.

“If you persevere, you just know that you always have a chance with this team because they have guts and courage and they have shown that more than clearly.”

“In terms of the drama and the pressure we put on ourselves to perform, that’s right up there because they’re a wonderful team, they’re a great team. Last week was difficult for us because we told it like it was and we weren’t happy. So we had to go out there and perform.”

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Connor Murray says it is “unbelievable that Ireland beat South Africa in their backyard.”

The Irishman Conor Murray …

“Unbelievable. Just coming here to the world champion’s garden… Last week was hard and today again.”

“South Africa don’t lose easily, they find a way and it’s so frustrating to play against them sometimes.

“But we believed in ourselves.

“Coming into South Africa’s backyard will always be a big challenge and we can be really proud.”

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Siya Kolisi felt South Africa needed to catch up against Ireland after being physically dominated in the first half.

South African captain Siya Kolisi …

“I think in the first half they were definitely responsible for it with their intensity and physicality. We just had to catch up.”

“We were not as intense as last week and they dominated us physically.

“We defended ourselves well.

“It is (a rivalry). Last week it was close, this week and also at the World Cup.”

“We will work hard, learn from this and meet them again.”

What’s next?

Ireland are back in action on November 8 when they face New Zealand in Dublin, while England’s season, which began this time last year ahead of Tests in preparation for the Rugby World Cup in August, is now finally coming to an end.

New Zealand are next in action in the first round of the Rugby Championship against Argentina on Saturday 10 August, live on Sky Sports (Kick-off 8:05 a.m.).

In the meantime, Wales’ attention now turns to the Autumn Internationals, where they will face Fiji (November 10), Australia (November 17) and South Africa (November 23) in Cardiff.