Mack Hansen says he feels like is living in “an alternate universe” on the eve of his first start for the British & Irish Lions in his native Australia. The winger, qualified for Ireland through his Cork-born mother, was a youngster in the crowd when the Lions last toured Australia 12 years ago and cannot wait to line up against one of his old housemates this weekend.
The 27-year-old represented his homeland at under-20 level but says relocating to Europe was “the best decision I ever made”. Nevertheless he has been pinching himself ever since flying in as a member of the 2025 Lions squad. “It feels like I’m properly living the dream,” admitted Hansen before Saturday morning’s fixture against Western Force, for whom his former Brumbies colleague and good friend Bayley Kuenzle now plays.
“On the last Lions tour I was at the game in Canberra and the Brumbies beat them. My dad, my brother and me were sitting behind the goalposts watching it. It was mad. It seems like an alternate universe. I remember the buzz around Australia and seeing these players you didn’t really get to see. It was amazing. I always loved the Lions and I didn’t know it would be something that I’d get to do. But I’m here and I’m enjoying it.”
That formative experience also taught him just how desperate the local Super Rugby sides are to take down the Lions. “You don’t expect anyone to actually do it but I talked to guys [at the Brumbies] after that and they’d been pumped up for the game for weeks. They saw it as the be-all and end-all.”
Hansen, who has 28 Test caps, has absolutely no regrets about declaring for Ireland, where his allegiance is so complete he has a tattoo of [head coach] Andy Farrell’s face on his leg. “I haven’t really looked back at it and wondered: ‘What if?’ I’ve just been going forward with Ireland. I’ve got a new life over there, new friends, new family. For me, it’s definitely the best decision I’ve ever made.”
He also says his Aussie mates will now be expected to support the Lions – “I’m expecting them to be wearing red; if not they won’t be getting tickets” – but accepts the touring team need a victory following their 28-24 defeat by Argentina in Dublin last week. “If you get the opportunity to play in the red jersey then, yeah, you should be winning games. We’re [drawn from] four of the best teams in the world, so the expectation is to win regardless of who you’re playing.
“There were a few excuses we could have had but we’ve thrown them out the door. At the end of the day [we have] some of the best players in the world. You should be winning every time. So every time it’s a loss it just isn’t good enough. We know we’ll get our heads absolutely chewed off if it happens again so the plan is to win from here on out. The only thing that can beat us is us really.”
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Hansen’s experience of Ireland’s tactical approach, currently in the process of being transplanted to the Lions, could further enhance his prospects of making the Lions Test side, with the Force game offering an ideal chance to press his claims ahead of, among others, England’s Tommy Freeman “We’ve all got different strengths. The other guys would be a bit quicker and more physical than me. That’s not my game. For me, my main strength is my work off the ball. That’s my focus a lot of the time: keep working hard and try and get into the game wherever I can.”
