'He gets rugby': Farrell purrs over Hansen as Keenan continues on road back

Andy Farrell saw Mack Hansen's odd coloured boots and thought, 'You better play well'

Mack Hansen played just his second game of the season against the Wallabies. Pic: ©INPHO/Nick Elliott

Hugo Keenan will begin his reintegration into the Ireland squad this week at the invitation of head coach Andy Farrell but you could forgive the injured full-back for feeling a little uncomfortable in camp following Mack Hansen’s tour de force at 15 against Australia.

Keenan was last seen on a rugby field during the summer as he etched his name in British & Irish Lions history by scoring the series-clinching try against the Wallabies in front of 90,000-plus supporters at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The hip surgery which followed will keep the 29-year-old sidelined until the New Year and in his absence Jamie Osborne continued his upward curve with some assured performances at full-back against both New Zealand and Japan.

Yet Osborne’s shoulder injury in that second game and the timely return to fitness of Hansen have ushered in a new dimension to Ireland’s attack. In his first appearance in the Irish number 15 jersey, Farrell’s favourite right winger spectacularly staked a claim to it longer term with a hat-trick of tries inside 29 minutes on Saturday night while his acknowledged playmaking instincts were better exploited by his team in his new position, despite the constant downpour that accompanied the 46-19 win.

Hansen’s all-round performance, in which he complemented excellent performances by half-backs Jamison Gibson-Park and Sam Prendergast, had the Ireland boss purring afterwards.

“He gets rugby,” was Farrell’s succinct appraisal before he added: “He can make a difference within the game. And also he's got a good feel in the backfield. He understands the depth perception and all of that.

“He's obviously very good in the air and in conditions like that, it's always going to help any team because the kicking game is obviously in fruition throughout the game. He's always been very good in the air. His skillset lends it to being that. He's been brought up playing 10, 15 and wing. That's why he's such a nice player to watch.

"It is the speed of thought. He's deceptively quick though, very powerful through the legs and hips, Mack. He tends to glide along, he's a lot quicker than you'd think.” 

The Hansen show was brought to a premature end by cramp on 71 minutes in just his second game of the season. He had managed 80 for Connacht against the Bulls last month before the foot injury which cut short his own Lions involvement before the Test series was aggravated. Yet Saturday night’s display was eye-catching, and not just because of his odd boots, one white, the other black.

"My first thoughts were 'You better play well in those two different coloured boots!',” Farrell said of his pre-game discovery.

"I actually thought that was how it should have been but apparently Mack just did that himself anyway. So he's drawn attention to himself before he's even started.

"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.'

"So he's that type of player, he prepares well, he's got a great attitude to get across his detail and so that's why he slotted straight back in and he was able to be himself because of that."

The Ireland boss will clearly be hoping Hansen’s great form will be repeated against the Springboks this Saturday, while it would be only human for a watching Keenan to be more than a little nervous at the prospect. The invitation to join the squad this week alongside fellow absentees Cormac Izuchukwu and Joe McCarthy may calm some concerns that out of sight from the boss is out of mind and Farrell said: “Ah look, he's a fine player Hugo, and any squad's going to miss him.”