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.”
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he
RSS