'As good as it gets' - Andy Farrell delights in comeback win

Don't say he didn't warn you.

In the moments after last week's first Test defeat to South Africa in Pretoria, Andy Farrell was quick to point out that even in defeat, his team hang around like a bad smell.

"We don't go away," he told RTÉ Sport at Loftus Versfeld seven days ago.

As Ciarán Frawlery's dropgoal squirted its way over the posts to seal an incredible comeback win against the Springboks this evening, those comments started to feel more like a threat than a tribute.

"It was the sublime to the ridiculous, wasn't it? It was a complete role reversal of last week," Farrell said, after his side's incredible 25-24 win over the world champions this evening.

For the first 40 minutes, Ireland were as good as they have been since the opening round of the Six Nations.

Farrell didn't hide the fact that he had given his side a rollicking during the week for their sluggish start to last week's first Test, but the tourists dominated the opening 40 in Durban.

Having led 16-6 at half time, Ireland's discipline fell apart after the break, and Handre Pollard kicked South Africa bit by bit into a 24-19 lead, all through penalties, before Ciarán Frawley's dropgoal heroics.

"First-half performance not too great last week; this week, I thought it was outstanding, as good as it gets," Farrell said.

"But 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 Ireland head coach went to his bench early in Durban this week, and it was an Ireland team with Ciarán Frawlay and Caolin Blade in the half-backs that led