The result was sealed by replacement flyhalf, Ciaran Frawley, who kicked two late drop goals for a remarkable win which seemed unlikely following a dramatic Springbok comeback in the second half of the match.
The Irish deservedly had a 10-point lead at the break, but then had to wait for Frawley’s rescue act to save the match and the series.
Things did not start well for the Boks in the Hollywoodbets Kings Park cauldron. Willie le Roux was left dazed in the second minute following a tackle on James Lowe and was taken off the field for an HIA. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu came on at fullback and stayed on the field for the remainder of the match.
The opening five minutes were ferocious. The Boks came hard off their line, with Eben Etzebeth in particular smashing into the Irish. He started one of those runs too early though and was ruled offside, which handed Jack Crowley an early chance to get the scoreboard rolling. He made no mistake and the Irish were 3-0 up after five minutes.
Etzebeth was bloodied in one of those exchanges and replaced by RG Snyman, who had come on for a blood replacement for Franco Mostert a few minutes earlier.
The Irish had more urgency on attack and this time employed inside passes to attack the Springbok defence line. It worked like a charm 20 minutes in when Jamie Osborne’s inside pass found attackers in space and Conor Murray could sneak in for the first try of the match. Crowley converted and the Irish were 10-0 up.
Handre Pollard kicked all the Boks’ points in Durban.
Snyman stayed on when Etzebeth returned, as Mostert limped off 22 minutes in. The duo’s first scrum together resulted in a penalty to the Boks and Handre Pollard slotted the 40m effort to get his team on the board.
Ireland still had the upper hand at this stage though as they were winning the kicking duel for possession. However, two more scrum penalties gave the Boks front foot ball and they worked their way back into the match. Pollard kicked a second penalty goal 34 minutes in after yet another Irish scrum collapse, but the expected surge from the Boks never came.
They had a couple of strong attacks close to the half-time whistle, but the last pass went astray or even worse, lost a lineout on their own ball five meters from the Irish line. Instead, Ireland finished strongest, with two more Crowley penalties extending their lead to 10 points at the break.
Whatever was said by Rassie Erasmus at halftime, clearly worked. The Boks came out all guns blazing and came close to the Ireland line, only to again lose possession in a promising position. They kept plugging away though and another good attack saw the Irish concede a penalty. Pollard kicked the first points of the half four minutes in.
Erasmus also changed some personnel, with Grant Williams coming on for Faf de Klerk and Vincent Koch and Malcolm Marx added to the front row. Foul play by Caelan Doris handed him a yellow card and red card review after he attacked the knee of Marx at a ruck and Pollard kicked a fourth penalty goal to cut the lead to four.
The Boks were clearly a changed team and more replacements brought fresh legs as Marco van Staden replaced Siya Kolisi at flanker, with the captain leaving the battlefield to a standing ovation.
Ox Nche on the attack.
Pollard’s fifth penalty goal cut the lead to one point, but the Boks then took a two-point lead after yet another error on defence by Ireland in front of their poles, with Pollard’s sixth successful kick handing the Boks the lead for the first time in the Test, 56 minutes in.
Doris returned from the sin bin at the same time as Kwagga Smith was ruled offside at a ruck and Crowley restored the lead in the 59th minute with a penalty goal from 40m out.
That lasted a minute as from the restart, the Irish went offside at a kick and Pollard made no mistake from a 35m angle which made it 21-19 for the Boks. Three minutes later, following a scrum in the Irish half and after the visitors were again penalised, Pollard kicked an eighth penalty goal to extend the lead to 24-19.
The Irish somehow recovered from the onslaught to launch a close-range attack, but were held up over the line and the hosts could relieve some pressure with a goal line drop-out. Frawley calmly slotted a long-range drop goal after receiving the ball 45m out and the Bok lead was back to one score.
Frawley then won the game for the Irish with yet another drop goal on the hooter, the kick that squared the series.
Scorers:
Springboks 24 (6) – Penalty goals: Handre Pollard (8).
Ireland 25 (16) – Try: Conor Murray. Conversion: Jack Crowley. Penalty goals: Crowley (4). Drop goals: Ciaran Frawley (2).