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South Africa staged a stirring comeback in the second Test in Johannesburg to square the three-match series
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Devin Toner’s try combined with 14 points from the boot of Paddy Jackson gave the Irish a 19-3 lead at the break
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Tries from Ruan Combrinck, Warren Whiteley, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Damian de Allende saw the Springboks come back to win it
Damian de Allende scored a late try to help South Africa edge Ireland 32-26 at Ellis Park in Johannesburg and level the series.
Ireland were in complete control for close to 60 minutes in Johannesburg thanks to tries from Devin Toner and Jamie Heaslip along with the boot of Paddy Jackson, who scored 16 points.
But as the tourists began to tire in the final quarter South Africa finally came good after an abject first half, finishing with four tries from Ruan Combrinck and Warren Whiteley, both replacements at half-time, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Damian de Allende. From 26-10 down, they scored 22 unanswered points to claim a priceless victory.
Facing an expected backlash from South Africa, Ireland were by far the better side for the majority of the contest, but the Springboks dug deep and eventually came up with the goods to turn the boos from the crowd into cheers.
The result means the series is now tied at 1-1 ahead of the final Test in Port Elizabeth next weekend.
DAMIAN DE ALLENDE
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Adriaan Strauss (c), 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Julian Redelinghuys, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Warren Whiteley, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Ruan Combrinck
Ireland: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Stuart Olding, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Rhys Ruddock, 6 Iain Henderson, 5 Quinn Roux, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 David Kilcoyne, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Donnacha Ryan, 20 Sean Reidy, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Tiernan O’Halloran
Date: Saturday, June 18
Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 17:00 local (15:00 GMT)
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
TMO: Jim Yuille (Scotland)