DUBLIN :A hat-trick of tries on Saturday against the country of his birth would have settled any doubt about Mack Hansen’s loyalty to Ireland.
Canberra-born Hansen went over for three tries in the first half-hour to set Ireland on their way to a convincing 46-19 victory over the struggling Wallabies as he returned to the team and made a first test start at fullback.
Hansen, returning from a foot injury suffered on club duty last month, said he was determined to impress against Australia after missing out on Ireland’s loss to New Zealand and then the home win over Japan earlier in the month.
“I’ve had a pretty bang-average run with injuries really,” said Hansen. “My whole thing this week was to go out and do what I can do.
“I missed being in this team. I know there’s a lot of chat about me not necessarily being born here and I didn’t grow up here, but I love this team and this feels like home.
“Any time I get to play for Ireland it’s a privilege. If you don’t put in a performance you might not get that privilege again.”
Hansen moved to Ireland in 2021 to play at Connacht, feeling he had little chance of a test place with Australia. His mother is from Cork so he had an Irish passport and within a year he made his test debut in the 2022 Six Nations against Wales, going on to be nominated for the World Rugby Men’s Breakthrough Player of the Year award.
Hansen was modest about his scoring efforts on Saturday. “That’s the pleasure of playing in this team, I literally had to grab the ball and run over the line. I didn’t have to do much.
TAKING THE FIELD IN DIFFERENT COLOURED BOOTS
“Everybody else is doing their job for me, making it easy for me. We pride ourselves on making each other look good, and the boys did that for me,” he told RTE Sport.
Hansen wore two different coloured boots on Saturday, drawing comment from coach Andy Farrell.
“Well, my first thoughts were, ‘You better play well in those two different coloured boots’. He’s drawn attention to himself before he’s even started,” Farrell said.
“I said to him before the game, ‘Good players don’t need excuses; they can get on with it and just be themselves. You can get the man of the match if you want’, and he went, ‘Yeah, I agree’.
“He’s that type of player. He prepares well, he’s got a great attitude … that’s why he slotted straight back in and he was able to be himself because of that,” Farrell added.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape TownEditing by David Goodman)
