Missing their all-important Six Nations stars disaster ensued for Connacht who fell 38-14 to the Emirates Lions last night despite the opposition being reduced to 14 men for three-quarters of the game.
The Lions, who had never won in Ireland and only won a single away game in the past year, put six tries past the Connacht defence to earn a bonus-point win and leapfrog the province in the race for a spot in the knockout stages of the competition, a result that left Connacht's Mack Hansen 'shell-shocked', brandishing the loss as 'very disappointing' and claiming his teammates 'weren't up to it today'.
Connacht's loss leaves them sitting in ninth place, a point behind both Ulster and the Emirates Lions and currently a single point outside qualifying for the quarter-finals.
However, with all their Six Nations winning stars still being rested, their return will undoubtedly have a transformative effect on the team and their abilities.
23 March 2024; Edwill van der Merwe of Emirates Lions is tackled by Cathal Forde of Connacht during the United Rugby Championship match between Connacht and Emirates Lions at Dexcom Stadium in Galway. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Mack Hansen 'Shell-Shocked' by Connacht defeat
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Injured Mack Hansen who was on punditry duty with RTÉ for the game last night was left shocked by the result, claiming his own teammates 'weren't up to it today'.
I’m a bit shell-shocked to be honest. It looked like every time the Lions had the ball they were cool, calm and collected and seen their offloads a lot compared to us who looked frazzled, we looked like we were trying to push the envelope when we didn’t have to and they fairly flipped the script.
They were actually the ones who were speeding up the game at some points, spreading it wide. They were throwing the ball around with ease. It was a great win for them and the fellas weren’t just up to it today really.
However, it wasn't all doom and gloom from the Ireland winger who was hopeful that the surprise loss would spur on a response against Benneton next weekend.
Maybe it’s the rocket we need as well. Everything is the way you look at it. We come away from this game knowing we put no pressure on them and then the pressure they gave to us we didn’t just deal with it. It’s very disappointing, especially at home, but it could be a really good way to take a lot of learnings from it into the back end of the season.
Look, I’m just trying to find a positive out of it really. But I think that’s the way we have got to look at it. Away to Benetton next week is not going to be easy but it is a great place to bounce back.
Mack Hansen himself has been out injured with a shoulder injury since January, missing Ireland's Six Nations campaign and a host of Connacht games. However, he is expected to make his return to action in May.
Hansen's return, along with their international stars currently being rested like Bundee Aki and Finlay Bealham, will make a significant difference to their run heading into the end of the season and should give them the tools to move themselves back into quarter-final contention with six games of the URC still to play.
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