One highlight of the opening weekend of the URC from an Irish perspective was the return of Mack Hansen to the Connacht setup after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Hansen had been sidelined since January after dislocating his shoulder against Munster. He was named to start against the same opposition on his return to competitive action with the Westerners last weekend, a long overdue return.
Though Connacht would ultimately be on the losing side of a ten-try thriller, the play of their backline has earned them many plaudits in the days since. With Hansen seemingly right back on it, hopes are high for an improved showing for the province this season.
The Aussie-born winger has become a favourite of Ireland fans not only for his exploits on the field but his madcap antics off it.
Speaking to the Irish Independent this week, Hansen revealed that his casual approach had caused a mix-up when he was first called into the Ireland squad by head coach Andy Farrell.
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Mack Hansen nearly botched his first call-up from Andy Farrell
Mack Hansen will be preparing for a major push over the next few weeks to force himself back into contention with Ireland.
23 September 2023; Mack Hansen of Ireland evades the tackle of Manie Libbok of South Africa on his way to scoring his side's first try during the 2023 Rugby World Cup Pool B match between South Africa and Ireland at Stade de France in Paris, France. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
It would have been hard to imagine Andy Farrell's Ireland team without the energy of Hansen on the wing before the Connacht man's injury lay-off. There will be competition for places, but one assumes that Hansen will be right back in the mix for the upcoming November internationals.
However well his Ireland career has panned out thus far, Hansen revealed to the Irish Independent that he had something of a faux pas when head coach Farrell first contacted him.
Farrell gave me a call.
I almost didn’t take in who I was talking to. It was a bit like, ‘Wow, who the f**k was that?’
It wasn’t until [Andy Friend] was talking to me and asked if Andy gave me a call. I was like, ‘Oh f**k off, I hope I didn’t sound not keen, or anything like that’.
I don’t know why, I was just a little rattled by it. It was bizarre, if that makes sense? So, he always had tabs on me, but it didn’t really hit me until I was actually invited in.
Both Hansen and Farrell are probably delighted that that first contact did not put the Ireland coach off their ultimately successful partnership.
The pair have since developed something of a special rapport. First up, Hansen got his head coach's face tattooed on his leg (in a move which epitomises his care-free approach), before he revealed that Farrell had offered to write him a sick note to get him out of injury rehab and allow him to join this year's Six Nations celebrations.
