Mack Hansen: With Lancaster, you’re on board or you’re f***ed
Mack Hansen has returned to action having recovered from a serious foot injury.
MACK HANSEN feels like he is back to square one at Connacht after a 10-month injury absence, but the Ireland star believes the province can target silverware in their second season under Stuart Lancaster.
Hansen has returned to action having recovered from a serious foot injury and, while he is regarded as one of the westerner's key figures, he insists that Lancaster’s demands have ensured there is no room for anyone to assume they are secure in terms of selection.
“I don’t feel super comfortable that I’m always going to have a starting spot,” said the 28-year-old. “If I have a bad game, or even an average game, we’ve got a lot of guys that can fill that spot.
“Under Pete (Wilkins), I had a good few games where I did my job and did it well, so I had that money in the bank built up, whereas now it’s kind of back to square one. Stu has been pushing me to be world class, whatever position I’m playing, and if I’m not doing that, he’s made it very clear that’s not good enough.
“It’s intimidating and it can be a bit scary because you’re like, ‘F***, I’m one game away from sitting on the bench’. But it’s making me week to week just have to give my all and it's keeping me on top of my game.”
While the westerners' late charge wasn't enough to finish in the URC play-off positions, Lancaster has already made a significant impression.
“He’s everything that we asked for as players,” Hansen said. “He’s turned the place upside down, in the best way possible. He said, ‘Look, this is what I want to do. This is how we’re going to do it'.
"And either you’re on board or you’re f***ed, pretty much.”
Hansen is relieved to put behind him an injury nightmare that culminated in foot surgery last October. The problem began a few months earlier, when he was sidelined for the British and Irish Lions' Tests against Australia, before he suffered a recurrence in his only appearance of last season for Connacht against the Bulls.
The solution? Extensive surgery, including a bone fusion, six screws and a plate.
“I wish I had done it skydiving or fighting a shark or something,” he said, ruefully. “It was just as simple as stepping on a bloke’s foot the wrong way. Unfortunately, just the way I landed, it gave out.
“I ended up doing a few of the ligaments which were holding together my midfoot. That’s where all the power in your foot goes."
Hansen returned in Connacht’s pre-season meeting with Vannes, having spent months focused on rehabilitation. “I’ve been enjoying it. It’s why we all play the game, to actually play rugby, so I haven’t been doing that for a long time,” he said.
“If I can play well at Connacht, help us win games, hopefully win a bit of silverware...that’s what we’re aiming for this year. It’s no good just to make the eight this year. We’re going for silverware, we’re going to win something.”
Hansen is also excited by the arrivals of Ciarán Frawley and Will Connors, who have both joined from Leinster. “Frawls is an unbelievable player,” he said. “When I’ve played with him before, he just brings something special. He’s a player that you want to play with.
"And Will is some man, I’ve got a big man crush on him straight away! He’s a gas man, he’s very funny. He’s a great chop tackler and just brings that slightly different thing to the back row.”
Playing for Ireland remains a major motivation, with Hansen dreaming of making Andy Farrell’s World Cup squad for Australia in 2027.
“That would be unbelievable, another dream come true that I didn’t realise I had, almost," he said. "The only way that comes to fruition is from playing well throughout the year.”
Away from rugby, Hansen also made an unexpected return to the spotlight when he appeared on The Tommy Tiernan Show. Normally exuding confidence, he confided that was afraid the comedian would not know him.
“It was very nerve-wracking,” he said. “It was more that I was just going to get embarrassed, everyone was giving me s*** about that. He lives in Barna, I know he goes to Connacht games, so it would be nothing worse if he had no clue who I am at all.
"You really do forget that the cameras are even there and, by the end of it, you’re just having a conversation. They showed only 20 minutes but we ended up talking for about an hour and a half, I think, and it flew by. That’s a credit to him as an interviewer.
"That was a great experience. It was something that I hadn’t planned on doing before but I’m really glad that I did."
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