Mack Hansen 'getting snapchats of vapes and beers' amid row with Ireland boss

15 September 2023 , 08:27

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Mack Hansen 'getting snapchats of vapes and beers' amid row with Ireland boss

Mack Hansen admits he's been getting "snapchats of his mate smoking vapes and having beers" before Ireland games as he confessed to a tiff with Ireland boss Andy Farrell.

The winger, who has largely been a constant in the Irish starting XV, was one of the surprise omissions from their team for their record win over Romania last week. Questions were immediately raised as to the reasons behind Farrell overlooking Hansen.

The Ireland boss said he left out Hansen “because we wanted to give someone else a game, as simple as that" before confirming he would not start again this weekend. He then challenged the press to question his winger on the incident which led to his axe.

Hansen later came out and, tongue in cheek, admitted: "We had a five minute tiff or whatever, but we're fine now." The Australian-born star, known for his big personality, also joked about the interaction he's been having with his friends during the World Cup in France.

He said: "A lot of my mates are over at the moment, so it is tough getting snapchats of them smoking vapes and having beers at 12 in the morning whilst I'm trying to prepare for a game. But it is fun to see and it'll be good crack catching up with them."

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Hansen came on after an hour last weekend as Ireland put 82 points on Romania, running in 12 tries. The Connacht star after the match thanked fans by handing them his kit, but went further than most by handing one fan his short, leaving him wandering the pitch in his underwear.

Mack Hansen left the pitch in his underwear last weekend (@Murray_Kinsella)

"Look I'm not the first person to take their shorts off after a game - I probably won't be the last," he joked. "We've been told to keep them on this week so I'll try my hardest, I'll see how I'm feeling."

Hansen has returned to the starting XV for this weekend's clash against Tonga. He is part of a backline that also features the likes of Hugo Keenan, Garry Ringrose and Johnny Sexton. Ireland lost their second pool match to Japan last year, but there is no talk of an upset once again.

"Everyone keeps talking about four years ago and I understand why from you guys' point of view but we don't," said Farrell. "We're a different team, different circumstances, different competition, we move on."

Samuel Meade