Gerry Thornley: Mack Hansen showed exactly why Andy Farrell made him a Lions player

Irish Times

13 hours ago

On the hour mark,
Josh van der Flier
picked up from a
Lions
ruck just inside the Western Force half, saw daylight and broke clear. As Henry Pollock steamed up on his inside, another opportunist long-range Lions try seemed on. But Van der Flier's attempted offload inside the Force 22 plopped into the hands of the home fullback Ben Donaldson and he broke up field, with everyone else running in the opposite direction.
A try at the other end suddenly seemed likely as Donaldson ran to the Lions' 10-metre line and kicked ahead.
Mack Hansen
was the eighth-most advanced Lions player in attack but he turned and saw the danger before gobbling up the ground as others appeared to be jogging on the spot in quickly covering back 50 metres. Hansen dived on to the loose ball, bounced to his feet, fended a tackle and offloaded to Huw Jones.
Hansen's work was only beginning. He back-pedalled to his position on the right wing and just seven seconds later received a pass from
Dan Sheehan
. Hansen kicked downfield and chased from his own 22 to the Force 22 and tackled Max Burey, whose pass infield was dropped by Henry Robertson.
Okay, that was an added bonus, but Hansen's work-rate had effectively earned two turnovers and a net gain of 60 metres.
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In the coaches' box,
Andy Farrell
had cursed in frustration and put his hands on his head when the Lions had initially turned the ball over, but when the cameras panned back after Hansen's cameo, the head coach was unusually animated in roaring approvingly and happily punching the air with both fists. Alongside Farrell, video analyst Vinny Hammond and
Simon Easterby
joined in the applause and smiled.
Mack Hansen after the victory over the Western Force in Perth. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho
Hansen wasn't perfect, and knocked on soon afterwards, to be left shaking his head – not for the first time. But it was no surprise that Farrell singled out those moments immediately afterwards.
'This was a lot of the lads' first game, so we're up and running and we'll keep pushing it forward. There were some fantastic tries, but the play of the day was Mack Hansen going up and down the field,' said the coach approvingly.
It will also be no surprise therefore, if Farrell also singles out Hansen's work-rate on the hour mark when the Lions conduct their review as an example to all. Hansen is an intelligent, skilful rugby player who is deceptively athletic and bravely looks to influence matches. And the coach knows that if he has 15 players willing to stay alert and be involved at all times, and also possess the honesty of effort which Hansen showed in those moments, his team has every chance of beating their opponents.
In keeping with someone who started his coaching journey overseeing defence, Farrell's teams pride themselves on that side of the game and to that end, work-rate when the opposition have the ball is key. For the Lions to restrict the Force to just one try from eight visits to the 22 will have pleased Farrell no end. But as important is work-rate in possession as well and it was striking how often the Lions scored tries through players making a second touch in the move.
Sheehan's touchdown after he palmed Finn Russell's crosskick inside to James Lowe and withstood the tackle of Dylan Pietsch to then take the return offload just 95 seconds into the game was the quickest Lions try ever.
Henry Pollock breaks clear to set up the Lions' second try, scored by Tomos Williams, during the tour match against Western Force. Photograph:)
It was also Pollock's second touch after taking a return offload from Van der Flier which led to him setting up Tomos Williams's first try. Likewise, after Hansen sent Lowe clear early in the second half, both Lowe and Williams had two touches apiece before the latter scored his second. Garry Ringrose constantly worked on and off the ball for his try. Alex Mitchell had started the last phase of the game before finishing their eighth try in overtime with his second touch.
Indeed, Hansen's lung-bursting contribution on the hour inspired him into producing some of his best rugby of the match. Nearing the 80-minute mark, it was Hansen's intercept which ended the Force's final attack of the match, before he offloaded to Marcus Smith.
Hansen then stepped in at scrumhalf from the ensuing recycle and passed to Pollock. Another phase later and when Elliot Daly's skip-passed him to hit Sione Tuipulotu, it was Hansen who supported on his centre's inside to take the pass, break clear, draw the last man and put Mitchell over. His third touch.
In moments like those, Hansen demonstrates the kind of playmaking, footballing ability which can also make his position on the wing somewhat notional.
Hansen's tattoo of Farrell on his leg is further evidence that he is as daft as a brush, but it also demonstrates the bond between the two. When Farrell wasted little time in bringing Hansen into the Irish squad following his arrival at Connacht in 2021, it raised a few eyebrows. But not the least of Farrell's skills as a coach is his ability to identify an international quality player and back those hunches by swiftly promoting them into the Irish team, other examples being
Joe McCarthy
and
Jamison Gibson-Park
.
Of course, Hansen's personality and return to the country where he was born and reared would also have earmarked him as 'a good tourist'. He ticks many boxes. He may or may not make the Test 23 but having made a positive impact off the bench against Argentina, he's already dispelled much of the debate about his inclusion in the squad.