Mack Hansen opens up on recovery after nightmare injury-riddled 12 months

Mack Hansen has been through the wars in recent times. The Ireland wing spent the best part of a year on the sidelines with a troublesome foot injury.

Hansen has endured a fair share of other issues prior to that. He sounds a bit like the Six Million Dollar Man when he outlines all the procedures and surgeries he’s undergone during his rugby career.

‘I’ve got three screws in my shoulder, a screw in my wrist, a TightRope (implant) in my ankle, six screws in my foot.’ Which begs the question: the metal detector in airport security must go doolally when he wanders through?

‘No, I’m not beeping. I don’t know if they use a special type of metal,’ the 28-year-old replied. It’s been a long road back, but Hansen is fit and firing again. He first injured his foot during a midweek game on the Lions tour in the summer of 2025.

He did further damage in a URC game against the Bulls a few months later. What followed was a 10-month ordeal involving regular visits to a specialist in London.

‘I ended up getting it fused, getting six screws and a plate in there. Got a new foot, essentially, is the way I like to describe it,’ Hansen explains. The Connacht star, who has scored 15 tries in 30 Ireland appearances, had some dark days during the year-long rehab.

‘Yeah, there was a period there where I was a bit worried, to be honest. ‘I’ve been very lucky. I’ve had great people around me. People up here and people down in Connacht that were doing everything they possibly could.

‘There was a good period there when it just wasn’t getting better. I felt like I’d take a step forward and two steps back for a while. I’ve had it with most injuries I’ve ever had. One day it just sort of clicks. It’s not perfect now, but it’s definitely on the mend. There were pretty sticky days where I was worried that maybe that was going to be it.’

The Canberra-born back has been a smash hit since he landed in Galway during the summer of 2021. Hansen, who was Irish-qualified by dint of his Cork-born mother, was far from a marquee signing at the time, but he has developed into a top-class player for club and country.

He’s almost been like a new signing for Stuart Lancaster this term. After all, he only played one game last season. Lancaster, who has made a serious impact in Galway himself, has challenged Hansen to fulfil his potential and become a world-class operator.

‘Well, that’s the thing. Stu is telling me I’m not at my best. And that’s what you want. That’s what I want from him too. I don’t want somebody telling me I’m great if I’m not doing great.

‘At Connacht at the moment, the wingers that we’ve got, the guys coming through, I’m under pressure every week to be at my best, which I think is going to make me better as a player. You rise to the occasion, or you don’t. t the moment, I’m seeing it as a blessing.’

No doubt, Andy Farrell is happy to see his maverick wing back in action. Hansen’s off-the-cuff, playmaking brilliance has been missed.

He’s a player who makes things happen on the pitch. This squad needs a bit of a lift this autumn. They have been uncharacteristically patchy in the past 24 months, and there is a distinct feeling that some of the heavyweight outfits have pulled away. ‘I think we’re challenging ourselves big time on those big games and nailing those big games, that’s probably something that we haven’t done, as of late,’ Hansen argues.

‘We talk about the win in South Africa (in 2024), wins in Twickenham; there are still games that we are doing it, but it’s just doing it consistently. It’s doing it every time.’I think that’s what that team before the World Cup did so well was, we went 17 (wins) in a row, we were so good at staying on it, and that’s what we want to recreate.

‘We feel like we’re maybe just that step or two off, but that’s exciting.’ There is the small matter of a November international series and the Six Nations on the horizon, but the 2027 World Cup looms large. Representing Ireland on the biggest stage in the country of his birth would be quite the achievement.

‘It would be cool. People are already asking me for tickets,’ Hansen adds. ‘I tell them I haven’t made the squad yet, so I can’t confirm anything. It would be cool, but there’s so much more to play for in between that. Faz had a really good chat yesterday where he set out the scene of what we’ve got to come and what we can achieve before we even get to the World Cup.

‘It would be amazing to make that, and hopefully everything goes well, and I can stay healthy and keep playing well, and that will take care of itself, and I’ll be in there, but before that there’s so much more we need to focus on.’