If you had to pick one man you'd like to be out on the pints with in Galway City, there's every chance you'd be going for Mack Hansen.
The Connacht and Ireland wing has become a fan favourite among Irish supporters in recent years, thanks in no small part to his light-hearted presence on social media and in interviews.
Hansen has made the headlines in the past for swearing during post-match interviews (more than once), getting tattoos of teammates and coaches alike, and downing a pint in the stands at a Connacht game post-World Cup.
He is, of course, also one of the best back-three players in the country, and was instrumental in a memorable 2023 for Ireland. As he remains sidelined through injury, he linked up with the Guinness Guru Darragh Curran in Galway this week for a few pints of Guinness - and revealed he had been testing his skills out in both codes of GAA.
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Mack Hansen says he hasn't yet warmed to Gaelic football
Born in Australia to an Irish mother, Mack Hansen has been with Connacht since 2021. He revealed to Darragh Curran this week that his childhood playing cricket in Australia had led to issues when he tried hurling on arrival in Galway.
[His skills are] actually not bad. But it took a bit of a while to get used to it because I'm used to cricket, holding it left hand at the bottom, right hand on top. Like golf.
That took me a lot of time to get used to, the flick of the wrist motion. I was just trying to wally it every time, no finesse. It was sort of like shovelling shit.
It's come along now.
Hansen also said that he had tried Gaelic football and had run into similar Aussie-oriented issues there.
The 26-year-old said that he was not used to the shape of the ball and that he had not warmed to Gaelic in the same way as he had to hurling.
I can't get my head around the Gaelic now. I don't like the football, I just can't kick it properly for some reason.
Everything's like an oval ball...I'd never really be kicking something with the inside of my foot. It's hard to do!
At the beginning of the video with the Guinness Guru, a Connacht fan approaches Hansen and asks when he will be back from injury. Her fellow fans will be happy to know that the Ireland wing is expected to be back "sooner rather than later," with hopes we may yet see him before the end of the season.
Connacht host the Stormers in Galway on Saturday, with kick-off at 5:05pm in the Dexcom Stadium.
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