IRELAND’S goal scorer Conor Murray has highlighted the team’s self-belief after the Six Nations champions knocked out world champions South Africa in the most dramatic fashion in Durban on Saturday afternoon.

Ciaran Frawley became Ireland’s hero after his goal went wide in the final moments to give Andy Farrell’s side a 25-24 victory.

Afterwards, 35-year-old Limerick scrum-half Murray, who played a key role in the success including darting out for a valuable try in the first half, said it was incredible to win the Test and tie the series.

Hugely experienced Murray recalled to Ireland’s starting XI after Munster teammate Craig Casey suffered concussion in first Test match

Murray said: “It was incredible to come into the world champion’s backyard and we knew how tough it was going to be. It was the same last week (in the first test) and today.

“South Africa don’t lose easily, they find a way (to stay in the game) and sometimes it’s very frustrating to play against them. Look, we believed in ourselves.

“Coming to South Africa’s backyard was always going to be a big challenge and I think we can be really proud of it.

“We suffered last week, it was a tough defeat. But we came out this week and we knew we would find our groove at the end of the week; the boys stepped up and committed to this week.

“These are rare times, a very difficult thing to do!”

Conor Murray reacts to Ireland’s last-minute goal that saw them beat South Africa pic.twitter.com/CRIt4XepAV

— Sky Sports Rugby Union (@SkySportsRugby) July 13, 2024

“We had a big meeting on Wednesday, a really honest meeting about ourselves. Tonight was not perfect at all.

“These are rare times, (winning in South Africa) is a difficult thing. You can already see the energy from the boys, so it will be a good thing.”

Murray said Ireland had great respect for South Africa and their achievements.

“I think (the growing rivalry) is good for the game, right?! We said with Rassie (Erasmus) that we don’t hear what’s going on off the pitch but it adds another element to it.

“We met the (South African) boys last weekend and met again this week, there’s a lot of respect there for what they’ve done at the World Cups and what not. We have total respect for them and it’s an honour to be able to go toe-to-toe with them. I’m sure the boys and I will agree that they’ve been very nervous this week, but when you get the reward it’s nice.”