![Ireland celebrations over South Africa - Ciaran Frawley delivers drama in Durban – and proves Ireland-South Africa rivalry is here to stay](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/rugby-union/2024/07/13/TELEMMGLPICT000385473494_17208905859500_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqoUtdbVl8J8gH-Y3CqJ8_3XP0vSylH7XOU9NXVjB8cBU.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Ciaran Frawley delivers drama in Durban – and proves Ireland-South Africa rivalry is here to stay
![Ireland celebrations over South Africa - Ciaran Frawley delivers drama in Durban – and proves Ireland-South Africa rivalry is here to stay](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/rugby-union/2024/07/13/TELEMMGLPICT000385473494_17208905859500_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqoUtdbVl8J8gH-Y3CqJ8_3XP0vSylH7XOU9NXVjB8cBU.jpeg?imwidth=680)
South Africa 24 Ireland 25
In the 79th minute, it was the best of times for South Africa, leading Ireland by two points having trailed by 10 at half-time. Sixty seconds later, however, it became the worst, as the bravery of replacement fly-half Ciaran Frawley earned Ireland victory over the world champions, in a tale of two dropped goals.
The series, after last weekend’s South African victory in Pretoria, ends drawn but the rivalry is anything but a stalemate. Even after the final whistle in Durban, after Frawley’s last-gasp heroics, the players continued to push and shove, ranting and raving at anyone who came within a hair’s breadth.
Ireland wanted to celebrate their stunning, staggering victory over South Africa, while the Springboks were left incensed by perceived obstruction for the charge-down attempt of Frawley’s clincher. In the end, referee Karl Dickson blew to end the match and Ireland were left to their ecstasy, South Africa to their agony.
These sides have met three times in the past 10 months – with Ireland winning twice – and if this level of brutality and belligerence is a sign of things to come in this ever-developing feud, then could we do away with the Nations Championship and have these two play on a weekly basis?
That South Africa came within seconds of victory was down as much to their game management and competitive spirit as any level of skill. The Springboks never looked like crossing the Irish line, trailed by 10 points at the break, and yet before Frawley struck the first of his two dropped goals in the 69th minute, the hosts were cruising – leading by five.
Handre Pollard struck eight penalties from eight attempts – six in the second half – and, as Ireland butchered both a five-metre line-out and tap penalty, with time running out, the back-to-back world champions looked to have completed yet another clinical masterclass. The Springboks’ scrum, spearheaded by the colossal Ox Nche, was once again irresistible.
But no one could say that the Irish victory was undeserved. Ball in hand, Andy Farrell’s side played the more attractive rugby – scoring the only try of the match, through Conor Murray in the first half – and the courageous way in which victory was clinched almost deserved extra kudos. Frawley’s first dropped goal, after two spurned Irish opportunities, put his side within touching distance but, even then, there was work to do against the world’s best.
It was the replacement fly-half who grabbed the occasion by the scruff of the neck, calling a Johnny Sexton-esque wrap-around inside the Irish half with the game on the line. Frawley managed to get on the outside of Jesse Kriel but when the fly-half opted to kick it seemed as though Ireland’s race was run. What a kick it was, though, bobbling devilishly for the helpless Cheslin Kolbe to clean up, the wing forced to run into touch inside his own half with a minute remaining.
That set the stage for Frawley’s dramatic finale, a 42-metre drop goal which ensured, for the first time, that Ireland were not series losers in South Africa. The 26-year-old Leinsterman admitted that he would enjoy “a pint” after the match, but surely more than one will be sunk in the watering holes of Durban after a display of such valour. Frawley only played just over 20 minutes but there was no other candidate for player of the match and Farrell might end up with some thinking to do around his future, long-term fly-half, although incumbent Jack Crowley did not miss off the tee, kicking 14 of Ireland’s points.
![Ireland capytain Caelan Doris gives away his boots to supporters after the second test between South Africa and Ireland at Kings Park in Durban, South Africa](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/rugby-union/2024/07/15/TELEMMGLPICT000385479427_17210334336960_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqCHco2f1jjYcmYrb_Lt46UrxlL4JJZFr6G2BGlsAngeI.jpeg?imwidth=350)
But after this Durban dust-up, it is a shame that these two foes will not meet in November to renew one of rugby’s most burgeoning – and unexpected – rivalries.
Ireland stun Springboks: As it happened...
Ciaran Frawley to Sky Sports
I actually don’t know [how I’m feeling]. It’s mental. This place is like a fortress - so loud. The game went back and forth. The boys dug in deep. We were in our own half, managed to get up and get the final points. Delighted.
We speak about it amongst ourselves on the bench but the lads who came on had a real impact. There was a real positive vibe. The subs made an impact and we’re delighted with the win.
It’s 55 weeks on the bounce - a long old season. We’ll dust ourselves off and look to come back even better. A lot of learnings from this game and series.
I’m going to go and have a pint now and enjoy that!
Caelan Doris to Sky Sports
I said to the team to just keep believing, there was still time. We believed if we got territory we could get down there and we could score.
It’s a good feeling, finishing a long season with a win like that. It’s been a long season and we know it was an unbelievable test, massive. We’re happy to finish on a high.
We deserve a few beers tonight after a long season.
Conor Murray speaks to Sky Sports
Incredible. Just to come here, to the world champions’ backyard, we knew how tough it would be - as it was last week. South Africa do not lose easily. It’s so hard to play against. It was always going to be a big challenge. Last week hurt but we knew we were getting a break at the end of it. We had a big meeting on Wednesday where we learnt a lot about ourselves.
The rivalry is good for the game. There’s huge respect there. What they’ve done in World Cups. It’s an honour to be able to go toe-to-toe with them. It’s nice when it pays off.
We’ll have to celebrate tonight. These are are rare times. It’s a tough thing to do.
80 min: RSA 24 IRE 22
Ireland are giving this a lash!
Frawley runs the Sexton wrap-around and manages to get on the outside of Kriel. The fly-half puts boot to ball, which seems mad at first glance, but the kick is a peach and Kolbe and is forced to run it into touch.
Ireland will throw in inside the Springbok half.
74 min: RSA 24 IRE 22
Decent defence by Ireland results in Kolbe being shepherded into touch. The visitors throw in inside their own 22 and clear well.
Pollard puts the bomb up but Lowe takes it superbly. And he’s off! Ireland sniff a counter but Arendse is offside so the visitors have a penalty inside, on their own 10-metre line.
Frawley kicks into Springbok territory on a tight angle and Ireland will throw in.
64 min: RSA 21 IRE 19
Supreme maul defence from McCarthy earns Ireland a turnover after Osborne made a complete Horlicks of Williams’ devilish clearance. It was a horrible one to deal with, in fairness, and it was the first foot he’s put wrong all day.
But it’s a scrum penalty to South Africa! Are we surprised? Bealham the guilty party according to Dickson.
It’s wide on the left but Pollard is having a shot.
57 min: RSA 15 IRE 16
South Africa are going to take the lead here.
After a delightful move, where Snyman offloaded beautifully to Marx, who charged upfield before finding Smith, Porter gives away a ruck penalty bang in front. Pollard will be six from six here, surely, and South Africa will lead for the first time.
YELLOW CARD DORIS: RSA 9 IRE 16
Hmm. Clearly a positive to ban the croc-roll and it is definitely a penalty, but there was a suggestion from the officials that Doris was sin-binned for falling on Marx’s lower limbs? It didn’t look like it.
Anyway, the Ireland captain has 10 minutes - at least, the yellow is being reviewed - on the sidelines and Pollard is lining up a shot at goal.
44 min: RSA 6 IRE 16
Superb scramble from Ireland! But what was De Klerk doing?
It all started with a counter from Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who offloaded to Arendse. Osborne gets back to haul down the wing but South Africa are purring.
Then, inexplicably, De Klerk tries a sneaky grubber that was never on and Ireland clear.
A second pinched line-out of the half from the visitors, too, but Henshaw coughs up a penalty at the ruck.
Half-time: RSA 6 IRE 16
Ireland take a 10-point lead into the half-time break - and you have to say it’s deserved. South Africa have looked lethargic and aimless, with some wayward management and kicking not helping matters.
Ireland, meanwhile, have scored the game’s only try - through Conor Murray - and they really should have added another at the end of the first half. The Springboks have not really looked like scoring.
The hosts have it all to do in the second half. But, with their scrum motoring, it is certainly not beyond them.
40 min: RSA 6 IRE 13
Doris comes so close off the base but a magnificent Du Toit tackle just about stops him two metres short.
Van der Flier and Porter both surge from close range but Ireland choose to use the backs.
Ringrose knocks on - there was a try on out wide - but there was a penalty advantage for offside bang in front of the posts.
The visitors point to the sticks to close out the half.
40 min: RSA 6 IRE 13
A great minute or so from Ireland.
They win the scrum - by no means a given at the minute - and hit Lowe out wide. The wing kicks down to the Springbok tryline, Pollard covers, but he’s forced to take the ball over and ground it by Lowe.
The half will finish with an Irish five-metre scrum.
27 min: RSA 3 IRE 10
Oh, a half-chance for South Africa and a big let-off for Ireland. South Africa hit it up in midfield before Pollard wraps round to the openside. The Leicester flyhalf whips a pass as flat as you like to Kolbe, beating the Irish defence all ends up, but the wing, in space, spills. He might have had a one-on-one with Osborne there, that’s all.
25 min: RSA 3 IRE 10
Pollard clears high and long and Osborne only just makes it. The Irish full-back does well to recycle possession, however.
Crowley replies in kind, putting the bomb up, and the chase is good from Nash but the wing just knocks on while challenging - and beating - Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
The Springboks will put into a scrum on their own 22.
23 min: RSA 3 IRE 10
Balletic feet from Lowe and a fizzing pass from Crowley to Nash get Ireland simmering. The fly-half and wing combine again with a cross-field kick pass but when Ireland come back into the midfield, Beirne knocks on.
A shame for the visitors as they were building nicely. And the Springboks were on the back foot and, dare I say it, a little lethargic.
14 min: RSA 0 IRE 3
South Africa clear but only as far as Osborne, who carries with intent. McCarthy gets in on the act, taking Ireland into the Springbok 22. The attack looks promising for the Irish, but Crowley chooses the cross-field kick. Henshaw gets up to compete but the ball goes loose and South Africa have a goal-line drop-out.
10 min: RSA 0 IRE 3
Straight from the top of the line-out, Crowley goes to the air. It’s a proper zinger from the fly-half, and Ireland are haring after it, but Osborne mis-times his chase, taking out the leaping Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and South Africa escape with a penalty. They kick down to the Ireland 22 but waste the opportunity with a poor chip from Pollard, straight down the throat of Nash - and Ireland clear.
4 min: RSA 0 IRE 0
Quite a clunky Irish attack - the hands were laboured - comes to an end as Etzebeth reads the play brilliantly, goes for the interception, but can’t hold on. We’ll have our first scrum on the South African 10-metre line. Irish put-in.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu is on for a Le Roux HIA, incidentally.
2 min: RSA 0 IRE 0
That’s some incredibly meaty defence from South Africa to begin with, pushing Ireland’s phase attack back into their own half. Etzebeth and Malherbe with some huge shots.
But Crowley puts the ball in the air, Le Roux can’t take it and the fly-half, with Lowe alongside him, puts the ball into the Springbok 22. Pollard is back to cover and clear, but Ireland will throw in well inside the South African half.
Reminder of those line-ups
The teams are on the way out, so a reminder of those line-ups.
South Africa: W le Roux; C Kolbe; J Kriel, D de Allende; KL Arendse; H Pollard; F de Klerk; O Nche, B Mbonambi, F Malherbe; E Etzebeth, F Mostert; S Kolisi (c), P-S du Toit, K Smith.
Replacements: M Marx, G Steenekamp, V Koch, S Moerat, RG Snyman, M van Staden, G Williams, S Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Ireland: J Osborne; C Nash, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J Lowe; J Crowley, C Murray; A Porter, R Kelleher, T Furlong, J McCarthy, J Ryan, T Beirne, J van der Flier, C Doris (c).
Replacements: R Herring, C Healy, F Bealham, R Baird, P O’Mahony, C Blade, C Frawley, S McCloskey.
ICYMI
Earlier, England missed another opportunity to defeat the All Blacks on home turf, eventually falling to New Zealand 24-17.
- You can read the match report (and my live coverage) by clicking here.
- You can read Charlie Morgan’s player ratings by clicking here.
- You can read Sir Ian McGeechan’s verdict, backing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso for Lions selection, by clicking here.
Then, Australia defeated Wales to earn a 2-0 series victory over Wales, condemning Warren Gatland’s side to their ninth successive defeat. Read our report by clicking here.
The Bomb Squad
Put simply, if Ireland are to have any chance of winning today, they have to handle South Africa’s replacements more effectively.
Last weekend, with the Springboks leading by only five points with three minutes left, James Lowe made a hash of the restart and the bomb squad, including one-cap loosehead Gerhard Steenekamp, packed down and demolished Ireland’s scrum. The South African pack were virtually jogging across the tryline by the end, earning a penalty try and sealing the win.
“I get goosebumps when I think about that [scrum],” said South Africa lock Franco Mostert, one of the replaced forwards in the starting XV. “[Scrum] coach Daan [Human] puts a lot of hard work in to get the scrums to function well, and it’s great to see the rewards.”
Confirmed line-ups
A reminder that the Springboks are unchanged from last week while Ireland make four changes. Captain Peter O’Mahony drops to the bench with Caelan Doris taking over the armband. Tadhg Beirne shifts from lock to blindside in O’Mahony’s stead with James Ryan coming into the second row. Ronan Kelleher starts at hooker due to Dan Sheehan’s injury while Conor Murray and Garry Ringrose start at scrum-half and outside centre respectively owing to injuries to Craig Casey and Bundee Aki.
South Africa: W le Roux; C Kolbe; J Kriel, D de Allende; KL Arendse; H Pollard; F de Klerk; O Nche, B Mbonambi, F Malherbe; E Etzebeth, F Mostert; S Kolisi (c), P-S du Toit, K Smith.
Replacements: M Marx, G Steenekamp, V Koch, S Moerat, RG Snyman, M van Staden, G Williams, S Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Ireland: J Osborne; C Nash, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J Lowe; J Crowley, C Murray; A Porter, R Kelleher, T Furlong, J McCarthy, J Ryan, T Beirne, J van der Flier, C Doris (c).
Replacements: R Herring, C Healy, F Bealham, R Baird, P O’Mahony, C Blade, C Frawley, S McCloskey.
Good afternoon!
Hello and welcome to Telegraph Sport’s live coverage of the second Test between Ireland and South Africa, from Kings Park Stadium in Durban.
After losing the first Test 27-20 at Loftus Versfeld last Saturday, Ireland are out for revenge against the Springboks. The world champions will be looking to back up last weekend’s victory in Pretoria to cement their status as Test rugby’s top-ranked nation.
Ireland, who have made four changes (details to come) to their starting XV, have not lost consecutive Test matches since round two of the 2021 Six Nations and head coach Andy Farrell hopes to see significant room for improvement from his side.
“It was a proper Test match and I get all that but when we strip it back from our side, we’re disappointed,” Farrell said, when asked about last Saturday’s loss.
“I’ve no doubt South Africa are going to be twice as good this weekend hence why we need to move pretty quickly this week in terms of the honesty of where we’re at and what we need to do going forward.
“It’s our last chance to have a crack at what is the best team in the world at this moment in time and we relish that opportunity.
“I think when you put on a green shirt, you’ve always got a chance. If we get the performance that we’re after, we’re more than capable of winning.”
Farrell’s counterpart, two-time-winning World Cup coach Rassie Erasmus, said “it’s always tough facing Ireland”, with the Springboks expecting a response from the back-to-back Six Nations champions.
“They are a quality team, they are ranked second in the world, and as we saw last week, they never stop fighting, so we know the magnitude of the challenge that awaits us this weekend,” Erasmus said.
“We have no doubt they’ll come out even stronger this week, but we also identified the areas of the game that we need to improve on, and it’s vital for us to build on our performance in our quest to win both matches.”
The confirmed line-ups are next!