Andy Farrell hails Ireland star for ‘showing what Lions should do for teammates' with ‘play of the day' vs Western Force
ANDY FARRELL believes Mack Hansen showed "what a Lion should do for his teammates" with one critical moment against the Western Force.
The Lions kicked off their tour of Australia with a
1
Mack Hansen in action for the Lions against Western Force
Credit: Steve Christo/Sportsfile
Connacht winger
However, the Lions head coach singled out the Aussie-born
star
for contributing the "play of the day" late on.
After a
Josh
van der Flier error, the Force threatened to break away for a try.
Hansen charged back to gather position and kick clear, before chasing his own kick and forcing a knock-on and winning his side a try.
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Speaking to
Sky
Sports,
"But the play of the day, if you want to look what a Lion should do for his teammates was when Mack Hansen went up and down the field, end-to-end, never gave up, and fought for his teammate.
"That's the type of spirit that we want throughout the team. So a
nice
example there."
Hansen's stellar showing from the start on Saturday came after he was brought on off the bench in the defeat to
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And it came 12 years after he was watching the Lions from the stands, only on that occasion, he was
The Canberra-raised ace was 15 when dad Craig took him to watch local outfit the Brumbies take on Warren Gatland's side during the 2013 tour.
'Cried like a baby didn't ya-' - Watch Andy Farrell embarrass Ireland star over reaction to Lions call-up
Hansen, who played for the Brumbies from 2018-2021, went wild in the stands as a Lions team including Ireland trio Rob Kearney, Seán O'Brien and Rory Best were downed 14-12.
The 27-year-old said: 'It seems like an alternative universe. I remember the buzz around
'It was amazing.
"I always loved the Lions and I didn't know it would be something that I'd get to do — but I'm here and I'm enjoying it. It feels like I'm properly living the dream.
'We were sitting behind the goalposts watching it. It was mad.
'I talked to guys after that and they'd been pumped up for the game for weeks, working towards it.
'They saw it as the be-all and end-all.
"Also, guys are playing to try to get into the Wallabies as well, so there's still a lot on the line for a lot of these teams.'
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