Ciaran Frawley on Saturday kicked a last-minute drop-goal to give Ireland a dramatic 25-24 win over Rugby World Cup holders South Africa in a Durban thriller, and a draw in the two-Test series.
It was the second drop-goal of the match by Frawley, a second half replacement for flyhalf Jack Crowley, as the visitors came from five points behind after leading 16-6 at halftime.
Ireland dominated the first half, but played second fiddle to the record four-time World Cup winners after the break and a string of Handre Pollard penalties put the Springboks 24-19 ahead.
Photo: AP
A Frawley drop-goal on 70 minutes narrowed the gap to two points before a capacity 52,000 crowd at Kings Park Stadium.
The 26-year-old struck again in the final minute on just his sixth Test appearance after Ireland won a line-out, sending another drop-goal between the posts in the enthralling clash of the top two ranked rugby union nations.
After referee Karl Dickson dismissed a claim of obstruction against Springbok winger Cheslin Kolbe, he blew for fulltime, a week on from the hosts’ 27-20 first Test victory.
Ireland triumphed despite playing 10 minutes a man short after captain and No. 8 Caelan Doris was yellow carded on 48 minutes for foul play at a ruck.
In his absence, flyhalf and two-time World Cup winner Pollard kicked three of his eight penalties, turning a seven-point deficit into a two-point advantage.
“That was a proper Test. We were pretty pleased with the way we played the game in the first half,” said Doris, promoted to captain after Peter O’Mahony was relegated to the bench.
“Credit to the Springboks for coming back, and then the last 20 minutes were back-and-forth. There were two points in it and we believed that if we could get territory, we could score,” he said. “It is definitely a good feeling to finish a long season with a win like that. We deserve a few beers.”
“The way we started, it was like Ireland did last week, we just did not have as much impact as we wanted, but we did well to come back,” South Africa skipper and flanker Siya Kolisi said. “Ireland are a very good side and we knew it was never going to be easy against them. We will learn from this.”
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