‘Sublime to the ridiculous’ – Andy Farrell reflects on rollercoaster win over ‘magnificent’ Springboks
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell and his players celebrate their win over the Springboks.
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell described his team’s performance as verging on “the sublime to the ridiculous” after they drew their two-Test series with the Springboks courtesy of a 25-24 victory at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.
After suffering a 27-20 defeat in the first Test in Pretoria, the men from the Emerald Isle had it all to do in the second encounter and they put in a superb display in the opening half to hold a 16-6 lead at half-time.
However, Ireland‘s discipline let them down in the second period which allowed the Boks to come back into the game with accurate goal-kicking from Handre Pollard, which kept the scoreboard ticking.
Ciaran Frawley the match-winner
Momentum between the sides ebbed and flowed during the game’s latter stages with replacement fly-half Ciaran Frawley slotting two late drop goals and his second one proved to be the match-winning act in what was Farrell‘s 50th Test as Ireland head coach.
“As far as drama and the pressure we put on ourselves to perform, it’s right up there because they’re a wonderful team, a magnificent team,” Farrell told the Irish Independent.
“It was the sublime to the ridiculous, wasn’t it?
“It was a complete role reversal of last week. First-half performance not too great last week; this week, I thought it was outstanding, as good as it gets.
“Second half last week was good; this week we’ve made enough mistakes to lose three games in that second half.
“But you just know when you’re hanging in there that there’s always going to be a chance with this team because of the guts, the bravery they’ve got and they showed that in spades.
“The character we showed, that’s what sport’s about really.”
Apart from Frawley’s two drop goals, Ireland’s other points came via a try from veteran scrum-half Conor Murray and four penalties and a conversion from starting fly-half Jack Crowley.
There were special words of praise from the coach for Frawley who held his nerve to land his two drop goals in the 70th minute and with the final act of the match after he came on to replace Crowley on the hour-mark.
“He had the guts in the first place to do the first drop goal and I thought it was immense how he had the courage to take it early, so fair play to him,” he said.
South Africa are the world champions and number one-ranked side in World Rugby’s official rankings, while Ireland occupy second position.
Only team to beat the Boks at World Cup
However, despite the Boks’ 2023 Rugby World Cup victory, Ireland were the only team to beat them at the global showpiece last year.
A lot was said about which team is the best in the world in the build-up to this series in South Africa.
When asked about it after Saturday’s match, Farrell, who is set to coach the British and Irish Lions on their tour to Australia next year, said he is not interested in that debate.
“I actually don’t care,” he said. “Two good sides, you wouldn’t want to separate them.
“You can add three or four more countries into that. I actually think world rugby’s in a good spot, because of that competition.”
