We knew this series would give us something special. It delivered in spades.
For just the second time ever, Ireland have won a Test match in South Africa, and their 25-24 win looked unlikely, if not impossible with just 15 minutes to play.
Ciarán Frawley was the hero of the hour. Two dropgoals in the final 13 minutes, and the second of those with the final kick of the game, saw Ireland stage an incredible comeback against the world champions, who had looked to be on course to whitewash Ireland in the series.
All week, the message from Andy Farrell and his Irish players was that they never go away, and his words were prophetic.
Ireland had been the better side in the opening 40 minutes and were deservingly 16-6 in front following a try for Conor Murray and 11 points off the boot of Jack Crowley.
Joe McCarthy and Caelan Doris had been exceptional in that opening 40, while the first quarter was as physical a game as this Irish team have ever played. In that opening quarter alone, the Springboks lost Willie le Roux to a head injury, while Franco Mostert and Eben Etzebeth had been treated for blood.
In the second half, it looked like Ireland would be the victim of death by a thousand cuts as their discipline fell apart and Handre Pollard added three-pointer after three-pointer until his side were 24-19 in front.
All had looked lost for this Irish side, but after Frawley landed his first drop at goal to put just a point between the sides, before he held his nerve as the hooter sounded to seal a famous win, after an incredible game in Durban.
The tone was set for a bruising Test in the opening two minutes when South Africa lost Le Roux to a HIA, the full-back replaced by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu after getting his head on the wrong side of a tackle on James Lowe, while Mostert had to be bandaged up after a cut.
The world champions were moving hard off the line defensively, and while it did almost result in an interception for Etzebeth early on, the second row was penalised for offside shortly after, as Crowley nudged Ireland 3-0 in front off the tee.
Etzebeth’s eventful start continued moments later, as claret spewed from a cut on his forehead, and the lock left the game for ten minutes where he was replaced by RG Snyman.
The physicality didn’t waver, and a bursting run through the middle from Joe McCarthy on 12 minutes put Ireland on the front foot, before Murray and Crowley combined to eventually send a kick in the direction of Henshaw, but Kurt-Lee Arendse managed to knock the ball through the in-goal area.
From the resulting drop-out, Ireland landed the first real blow. Doris was met with a crunching double-tackle from Ox Nche and Snyman but did well to recycle possession, and some quick hands between Crowley, Osborne and Henshaw eventually led to the ball popping inside to Murray, who ran in to score for the second game in a row.
Crowley tapped over the conversion to make it 10-0 to the visitors, but with Etzebeth returning to the Boks pack, they put their scrum to work, and a by the 18th minute Ireland’s lead was cut to 10-3 thanks to a penalty from Pollard.
Ireland were playing in the right areas, with Crowley targeting Arendse’s wing with contestable kicks, but they were giving the world champions a route back in through the scrum, as the South Africans ploughed through Ireland for another penalty.
They were almost handed a try on 27 minutes when Crowley’s clearance kick was blocked down by Kwagga Smith, but an excellent recovering tackle by Osborne stopped the back row, before the Irish support arrived to force a penalty turnover.
It was only a brief reprieve, as they continued to invite pressure upon themselves; first James Lowe’s kick went out on the full and brought the Boks back on the attack, before a penalty conceded by Van der Flier left Ireland defending their own five-metre line.
From the lineout, McCarthy’s wrestled his way through the South Africanss to strip the ball from Snyman, only for the Irish scrum to be penalised once again.
This time, Pollard and South Africa opted for three points, a decision which felt like a win for an Irish defence which had been scrambling for the previous five minutes.
While it was three points on the board, and cut the Irish lead to 10-6, it was also a chance for Ireland to get back into their half, and as soon as they did Du Toit was penalised for blocking Henshaw as he tried to field a ball, and Crowley called for the tee to restore the seven-point lead, 13-6, after 36 minutes.
Shortly before the break, a grubber down the touchline from Lowe led to Pollard being harried over his own line, giving Ireland a five-metre scrum, and although Ringrose’s knock-on ended their chances of adding a second try before the break, an offside from South Africa allowed Crowley tap over another three-pointer for a hard-earned break and 16-6 advantage.
South Africa started the second half hot, and when Murray and Doris slipped off tackles on Feinber-Mngomezulu it almost led to a Springboks try as the replacement put Kolbe into space.
Osborne came up with another recovery tackle, and several phases later it was the full-back who came up with the decisive turnover as he pounced on De Klerk’s poor grubber kick.
James Ryan was justifying his selection, and two lineout steals in the space of five minutes disrupted the Boks attack, but their powerful start to the second half was rewarded with a Pollard penalty on 44 minutes, which cut the Irish lead to 16-9.
Three minutes later, the out-half added another to make it 16-12, while Ireland saw their captain Doris sent to the sin-bin, after a croc-roll on Malcolm Marx at the breakdown.
By the 53rd minute Pollard had made it a one-point game at 16-15 when Ireland were penalised for offside, although they could have a legitimate grievance not to have won a penalty moments earlier after Marx appeared to be holding onto the ball when Beirne was in the jackal position above him.
The Doris sin-bin was proving costly, and by the time he returned to the pitch after 57 minutes Ireland’s lead was gone, Pollard knocking over his sixth kick from six after Porter had been penalised for going off his feet. It could have been far worse however, with a brilliant Crowley tackle on Smith denying the hosts an almost certain try.
Referee Karl Dickson was in danger of losing the pea from his whistle, with the amount he had to blow it in the third quarter.
Both sides were looking jaded after what had been a physically brutal hour, and they traded penalties just before the 60 minute mark. First, Crowley nudged Ireland back ahead with his final act before being replaced by Frawley, only for Pollard to regain the home side’s lead at 21-19 almost instantly after Ireland had been pinged for crossing in midfield.
The scrum issues of the first half reared their ugly head on 63 minutes. Gerhard Steenekamp, on for Nche at loosehead, won their latest penalty at the setpiece when he folded Finlay Bealham, and as sure as night followed day, Pollard split the posts to put a try between the sides, 24-19.
Ireland had hardly touched the ball in the South African half since the beginning of the second half but found themselves with a lineout in a promising position with 13 minutes to play, and while Cian Healy was held up over the line, Frawley made the smart call to chip into the deficit from the restart, his drop-goal getting Ireland back within two at 24-22.
The opportunities to win it were there. An offside against Arendse with seven minutes to play gave Ireland a penalty and a lineout in the South African half, but the chance evaporated almost instantly as Henshaw’s searching pass for Lowe drifted into touch.
It was Frawley who took the game by the scruff of the neck with minutes left, kicking down the touchline and forcing the Springboks into touch, and after Ireland retained possession off the lineout, his drop at goal was straight and true to snatch the win, and tie the series.
South Africa scorers:
Pens: Handre Pollard (8)
Ireland scorers:
Tries: Conor Murray Cons: Jack Crowley
Pens: Jack Crowley (4)
Dropgoals: Ciarán Frawley (2)
South Africa: Willie le Roux; Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse; Handre Pollard, Faf de Klerk; Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe; Eben Etzebeth, Franco Mostert; Siya Kolisi (capt), Pieter-Steph du Toit, Kwagga Smith.
Replacements: Malcolm Marx (for Mbonambi, 45), Gerhard Steenekamp (for Nche, 57), Vincent Koch (for Malherbe, 44), Salmaan Moerat (for Etzebeth, 71), RG Snyman (for Etzebeth 6-16, blood) (for Mostert, 17), Marco van Staden (for Kolisi, 50), Grant Williams (for De Klerk, 44), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (for Le Roux, 2)
Ireland: Jamie Osborne; Calvin Nash, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Conor Murray; Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Rob Herring (for Kelleher, 65), Cian Healy (for Porter, 56), Finlay Bealham (for Furlong, 44), Ryan Baird (for Ryan, 56), Peter O’Mahony (for Van der Flier, 56), Caolin Blade (for Murray, 59), Ciarán Frawley (for Crowley, 59), Stuart McCloskey (for Nash, 61)
Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)