ONE SUSPECTS THAT Ireland boss Andy Farrell is excited about the prospect of fitting Mack Hansen, Rob Baloucoune, and Hugo Keenan into the same back three.
And that prospect is live, with Hansen having made his latest return last weekend.
The 28-year-old played just three times last season due to foot problems that first struck during the 2025 Lions tour. Hansen was good on all three of those appearances, which included a try-scoring showing for Connacht against the Bulls and a hat-trick from fullback for Ireland against Australia.
Because he has been absent from the limelight, it’s easy to forget how good a rugby player Hansen is. Connacht head coach Stuart Lancaster is pushing Hansen to be “world-class” every time he plays for Connacht, and he’s right to do so because Hansen is capable of that.
Hansen’s effervescence has been a game-changer for Ireland in the past, mainly from the right wing. As well as being good in the air, combative in contact, and precise in defence, Hansen is athletic and creative in attack. He is the kind of unorthodox player that Irish rugby doesn’t produce too many of.
As he showed against the Wallabies in November 2025, Hansen is also a classy fullback, while he also has plenty of experience as a left wing, where he played his first two Ireland Tests in 2022.
And it was on the left wing that he made his competitive return to action for Connacht against the Stormers last weekend, albeit while wearing the number 14 shirt.
Hansen playing for Ireland last November. Gary Carr / INPHO
Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO
If Baloucoune and Keenan are also fit this November, it might be that Hansen features on the left wing for Ireland, although there are obviously other back three options for Farrell, such as Tommy O’Brien.
There would be no left-footed kicking option in that back three but the fact that most teams rarely use anyone but their scrum-half to kick from their ‘exit zone’ means this is perhaps less of an issue than has been the case in the past.
Last weekend, Hansen’s first Connacht appearance in almost a year saw him show glimpses of what he will offer to the province and Ireland as this season develops. With a proper pre-season behind him, he looks ready to make a big impact once again.
One of the things Farrell loves about Hansen is his relentlessness. That was on show for a crucial track-back tackle early on against the Stormers in Galway.
Hansen is working cross-field from the inside when Connacht centre Cathal Forde’s pass is intercepted by Stormers midfielder Ruhan Nel.
Nel obviously has a head start, but Hansen reacts within a split second to ensure Nel can’t open up too much breathing room as he sprints for the line.
Hansen knows Nel will attempt a fend on him and actually misses with his own effort to chop down Nel’s fending arm, but Hansen still gets a firm left-handed grip onto the Stormers centre to begin hauling him down.
It’s a cracking try-saving tackle and, typically, Hansen knows there is more to do.
He bounces straight up from completing the tackle, initially assessing the chance to jackal after Nel’s offload, before racing forward in a bid to collect the loose ball.
He can’t retrieve possession and Connacht infringe for a Stormers penalty in the ensuing phases, but the concession of three points would have been seven but for Hansen’s intervention.
Hansen made a similarly excellent tackle and follow-up effort at one stage of the 2025 Lions tour, earning Farrell’s glowing praise.
“The play of the game by a country mile was Mack Hansen; back and forward, full length of the field, fighting for his team on his own,” said Farrell at the time.
The Ireland coach will look forward to welcoming that spirit, and the physical fitness that is required for these plays, back into his side this autumn.
Generally, Hansen is a strong defender in front-on and side-on contact too, with good ability to read opposition plays. He has also worked hard to become a threat in wide breakdowns, where there can often be opportunities to at least slow the ball down.
But it’s undoubtedly in attack where Hansen excites people the most.
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He scored what must be one of his closest-range tries ever against the Stormers, picking and sniping over on second phase of a lineout attack.
It seems highly likely that Connacht scouted the possibility of this space opening up, with Hansen backed to have the acceleration to take it.
This use of wings as snipers around rucks early in possession is something that has come in and out of the game as a trend, with lots of New Zealand wings being particularly effective with this kind of play. Hansen loves the open spaces out wide, but he’s effective in the tight too.
He’s not a giant at 6ft 2ins and around 90kg, but Hansen is powerful in contact, as we see below.
Hansen went close to grabbing a second try against the Stormers, backing himself to finish after a smart sweep pass from John Devine and another from Josh Ioane.
Hansen is effective when striking from these deeper slots within shapes. Although the Stormers stop Hansen here, Ioane scores for Connacht on the next phase.
Hansen is also elusive and has fine top-end speed, making him a versatile attacking player. While things never fully opened up for Hansen last weekend, there were instances where his more rangy athletic ability was evident.
One other strength of Hansen’s game that didn’t feature prominently last weekend is his distribution.
He is a quality passer with vision, meaning he is adept at stepping in as a first or second receiver and sending team-mates into space. This is a particularly important skill when it comes to the kind of phase-play attack that both Connacht and Ireland seek to thrive in.
A huge part of any wing or fullback’s game is their work under the high ball, and there were a couple of signs of understandable rust from Hansen in this regard last weekend.
Hansen knocks the ball on in the example above.
He also lost the ball in his very first aerial test of the night, one which came as he retreated to try and field the kick.
This kind of catching while retreating has become far more common in rugby during Hansen’s time out of action. Previously, most fielding was done by players coming forwards from the backfield onto the ball, but now wings are being asked to catch high balls as they retreat downfield.
But while Hansen dropped the ball in this early example, allowing the Stormers to regather possession, he soon warmed to the task.
The kick below from the Stormers travels relatively far downfield, so Hansen has to accelerate to get underneath it.
He then shows great skill to gather the ball on the stretch and pop it off the ground one-handed to allow fullback Sam Gilbert to spark the counter-attack.
This is a snippet of the kind of creative solutions Hansen finds to problems. He is always alive to the possibility of making something positive happen.
Unfortunately for Hansen and Connacht, his influence on the game was notably diluted in the second half last weekend as the Stormers’ set-piece power came to the fore.
Yet there was enough in this return for Connacht to excite the western province and Ireland boss Farrell, who is plotting for the second window of the Nations Championship and beyond.
Hansen will be a key part of the plans whether he’s in the number 14, 15, or 11 jersey.
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Farrell will be excited to welcome Hansen into Ireland's back three
ONE SUSPECTS THAT Ireland boss Andy Farrell is excited about the prospect of fitting Mack Hansen, Rob Baloucoune, and Hugo Keenan into the same back three.
And that prospect is live, with Hansen having made his latest return last weekend.
The 28-year-old played just three times last season due to foot problems that first struck during the 2025 Lions tour. Hansen was good on all three of those appearances, which included a try-scoring showing for Connacht against the Bulls and a hat-trick from fullback for Ireland against Australia.
Because he has been absent from the limelight, it’s easy to forget how good a rugby player Hansen is. Connacht head coach Stuart Lancaster is pushing Hansen to be “world-class” every time he plays for Connacht, and he’s right to do so because Hansen is capable of that.
Hansen’s effervescence has been a game-changer for Ireland in the past, mainly from the right wing. As well as being good in the air, combative in contact, and precise in defence, Hansen is athletic and creative in attack. He is the kind of unorthodox player that Irish rugby doesn’t produce too many of.
As he showed against the Wallabies in November 2025, Hansen is also a classy fullback, while he also has plenty of experience as a left wing, where he played his first two Ireland Tests in 2022.
And it was on the left wing that he made his competitive return to action for Connacht against the Stormers last weekend, albeit while wearing the number 14 shirt.
If Baloucoune and Keenan are also fit this November, it might be that Hansen features on the left wing for Ireland, although there are obviously other back three options for Farrell, such as Tommy O’Brien.
There would be no left-footed kicking option in that back three but the fact that most teams rarely use anyone but their scrum-half to kick from their ‘exit zone’ means this is perhaps less of an issue than has been the case in the past.
Last weekend, Hansen’s first Connacht appearance in almost a year saw him show glimpses of what he will offer to the province and Ireland as this season develops. With a proper pre-season behind him, he looks ready to make a big impact once again.
One of the things Farrell loves about Hansen is his relentlessness. That was on show for a crucial track-back tackle early on against the Stormers in Galway.
Hansen is working cross-field from the inside when Connacht centre Cathal Forde’s pass is intercepted by Stormers midfielder Ruhan Nel.
Nel obviously has a head start, but Hansen reacts within a split second to ensure Nel can’t open up too much breathing room as he sprints for the line.
Hansen knows Nel will attempt a fend on him and actually misses with his own effort to chop down Nel’s fending arm, but Hansen still gets a firm left-handed grip onto the Stormers centre to begin hauling him down.
It’s a cracking try-saving tackle and, typically, Hansen knows there is more to do.
He bounces straight up from completing the tackle, initially assessing the chance to jackal after Nel’s offload, before racing forward in a bid to collect the loose ball.
He can’t retrieve possession and Connacht infringe for a Stormers penalty in the ensuing phases, but the concession of three points would have been seven but for Hansen’s intervention.
Hansen made a similarly excellent tackle and follow-up effort at one stage of the 2025 Lions tour, earning Farrell’s glowing praise.
“The play of the game by a country mile was Mack Hansen; back and forward, full length of the field, fighting for his team on his own,” said Farrell at the time.
The Ireland coach will look forward to welcoming that spirit, and the physical fitness that is required for these plays, back into his side this autumn.
Generally, Hansen is a strong defender in front-on and side-on contact too, with good ability to read opposition plays. He has also worked hard to become a threat in wide breakdowns, where there can often be opportunities to at least slow the ball down.
But it’s undoubtedly in attack where Hansen excites people the most.
He scored what must be one of his closest-range tries ever against the Stormers, picking and sniping over on second phase of a lineout attack.
It seems highly likely that Connacht scouted the possibility of this space opening up, with Hansen backed to have the acceleration to take it.
This use of wings as snipers around rucks early in possession is something that has come in and out of the game as a trend, with lots of New Zealand wings being particularly effective with this kind of play. Hansen loves the open spaces out wide, but he’s effective in the tight too.
He’s not a giant at 6ft 2ins and around 90kg, but Hansen is powerful in contact, as we see below.
Hansen went close to grabbing a second try against the Stormers, backing himself to finish after a smart sweep pass from John Devine and another from Josh Ioane.
Hansen is effective when striking from these deeper slots within shapes. Although the Stormers stop Hansen here, Ioane scores for Connacht on the next phase.
Hansen is also elusive and has fine top-end speed, making him a versatile attacking player. While things never fully opened up for Hansen last weekend, there were instances where his more rangy athletic ability was evident.
One other strength of Hansen’s game that didn’t feature prominently last weekend is his distribution.
He is a quality passer with vision, meaning he is adept at stepping in as a first or second receiver and sending team-mates into space. This is a particularly important skill when it comes to the kind of phase-play attack that both Connacht and Ireland seek to thrive in.
A huge part of any wing or fullback’s game is their work under the high ball, and there were a couple of signs of understandable rust from Hansen in this regard last weekend.
Hansen knocks the ball on in the example above.
He also lost the ball in his very first aerial test of the night, one which came as he retreated to try and field the kick.
This kind of catching while retreating has become far more common in rugby during Hansen’s time out of action. Previously, most fielding was done by players coming forwards from the backfield onto the ball, but now wings are being asked to catch high balls as they retreat downfield.
But while Hansen dropped the ball in this early example, allowing the Stormers to regather possession, he soon warmed to the task.
The kick below from the Stormers travels relatively far downfield, so Hansen has to accelerate to get underneath it.
He then shows great skill to gather the ball on the stretch and pop it off the ground one-handed to allow fullback Sam Gilbert to spark the counter-attack.
This is a snippet of the kind of creative solutions Hansen finds to problems. He is always alive to the possibility of making something positive happen.
Unfortunately for Hansen and Connacht, his influence on the game was notably diluted in the second half last weekend as the Stormers’ set-piece power came to the fore.
Yet there was enough in this return for Connacht to excite the western province and Ireland boss Farrell, who is plotting for the second window of the Nations Championship and beyond.
Hansen will be a key part of the plans whether he’s in the number 14, 15, or 11 jersey.
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