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In a thrilling and fiercely contested second test match in front of a packed Kings Park stadium in Durban, Ireland rallied in the dying minutes to claim a narrow 24-25 victory over world champions South Africa on Saturday afternoon.
Early in the game, Ireland showed resilience and hunger, coming out energised and physically dominant in the first half.
The Wolfhounds took the lead in the sixth minute with a Jack Crowely penalty kick, followed by Conor Murray’s try and a superb conversion from Irish fly-half Crowely.
At halftime, Ireland led by a commanding 16-6 margin after three penalty kicks, a try, and a conversion.
However, Ireland’s dominance waned in the second half, as the Springboks surged forward with great physicality, breathing down the Ireland defence line.
Springboks’ swinging momentum forced Ireland to commit penalties, which Boks fly-half Handre Pollard took advantage of, scoring 8 out of 8 with perfect kicking accuracy.
Pollard was not the only coolest man in Durban; Ireland’s fly-half, Ciaran Framley, stole the show in the 80th minute with a drop-goal, giving Ireland its second test win against South Africa in Durban out of 11 games.
Without touching the white goal line, Rassie’s side were so close but yet too far.
Ireland made four changes to the team that faced South Africa in the opening test match, which ended 27-20 in favour of the Boks at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on July 6, 2024.
Coach Andy Farrel’s changes undoubtedly contributed significantly to Ireland’s victory. Farrel startled many by dropping the regular captain, Peter O’Mahony, and the talented centre, Bundee Aki.
Meanwhile, Rassie Erasmus’ side remained unchanged, although Willie Le Roux’s head injury early in the game led Rassie to bring on a vibrant fly-half, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, to replace Le Roux and play the full back position.
The Springboks will play their third test against Portugal on Saturday, July 20, 2024, at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein. The match kicks off at 17:00.
South Africa SpringBoks Rugby Line-up.
- Ox Nche, 2. Bongi Mbonambi, 3. Frans Malherbe, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 5. Franco Mostert, 6. Siya Kolisi, 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8. Kwagga Smith, 9. Faf de Klerk, 10. Handre Pollard, 11. Kurt-Lee Arendse, 12. Damian de Allende, 13. Jesse Kriel, 14. Cheslin Kolbe, 15. Willie Le Roux.
Substitutes: 16. Malcolm Marx 17. Gerhard Steenekamp 18. Vincent Koch 19. Salmaan Moerat 20. RG Snyman 21. Marco van Staden 22. Grant Williams 23. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
Ireland Rugby Line-up.
- Andrew Porter, 2. Ronan Kelleher, 3.Tadhg Furlong, 4.Joe McCarthy, 5. James Ryan, 6. Tadhg Beirne, 7. Josh van der Flier, 8. Caelan Doris, 9. Conor Murray, 10. Jack Crowley, 11. James Lowe, 12. Robbie Henshaw, 13. Garry Ringrose, 14. Calvin Nash, 15. Jamie Osborne.
Substitutes: 16. Rob Herring 17. Cian Healy 18. Finlay Bealham 19. Ryan Baird 20. Peter O’Mahony 21. Caolin Blade 22. Ciaran Frawley 23. Stuart McCloskey
