Andy Farrell believes Ciarán Frawley deserves the opportunity to line out more regularly at out-half after his late heroics earned Ireland a last-gasp win in their second Test in South Africa.
The Leinster player came on a substitute with 21 minutes to go before scoring a match-winning dropgoal - one of two successful efforts in the final 13 minutes - kicked from more than 40 metres out to earn Farrell's team a 25-24 victory in Durban and see Ireland draw the series with the Springboks.
The double-edged sword of versatility has meant that Frawley has been deployed in a range of positions for province and country, from full back and centre to out half, without nailing down a role for a sustained period.
But having excelled in backing up starting 10 Jack Crowley in South Africa, Farrell feels Frawley has earned the opportunity to establish a foothold in one particular position.
"He's been a bit-part at 10, bit-part at 15, filling in at 12 etc. He deserves the chance to slot in at 10," said the Ireland head coach.
"There was a bit of Jack in him actually from the cross-field kick that went out on the full, he could have crumbled there, but his strength was his mental ability to dare to dream."
He added that the two dropgoals flighted over by Frawley had originated from training ground scenarios.
"You are actually thinking, 'Go one more, get us a little bit closer,' but he went early, gave himself room. He knows distance is not a problem. It was ugly, the second one; the first one was beautiful. We will take it," he said.
Farrell also reserved praise for the impact made by Caolin Blade, who replaced Conor Murray at scrum half in the 59th minute, saying that he and Frawley had "deserved the responsibility to show what they can do" from their performances in training.
"Bladie has always been a guy who has come in, in the middle of a competition and had a week to get up to speed and his thought-process has been in overdrive. Now he’s been in the squad from the start and is more and more comfortable."
The manner in which his team dug out the win pleased Farrell and emphasised the importance of the 10-point gap built up at half-time which he felt could potentially have been bigger.
"When we look at it now, the 16-6 is the reason we won the game. If it was probably a penalty less in the first half then we would have lost the game. It shows how good the first half was. When we were on their line there was two or three opportunities where we should have taken a try; we came away with three points, so we left some points out there.
"To have the character to play the play from the scrum and put the ball through and tackle him into touch, they are scenarios that you go through the whole time in training, you are always trying to give them scenarios, three points down five minutes to go, two points down, one minute to go; all that type of stuff. It's nice when they are able to stay composed enough to have the balls to go for it."
In the context of a marathon season for the players, taking in last autumn's World Cup in France along the way, Farrell said the way they had approached the task in South Africa across both games showed there was no element of going through the motions for this group of players.
"I never get the vibe that they're just turning up ton just muck and see how they go because they’ve been playing a 13 month season," he said.
"They don’t see it like that. They go again and keep on playing because that’s how much it means to them."
The only possible regret for the Ireland head coach was that the series was ending after two matches.
"I don't get the two-Test series. I’m a traditionalist and I love the three match series plus a few more," he said.
"I heard New Zealand and South Africa are going to do it every four years and I’m jealous of that. That’s proper touring and that’s the tradition of the game and I’m jealous of that."
He added: "I actually feel for South Africa as well because I'm sure that they thought in their (coaching) box that they had won it. It’s hard to take when it is so close and it's over like that. You can imagine the elation in our box. Look, it's a 1-1 series draw, if you call it a series. But it is a win away from home in our last game which we'll be delighted with."
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