The pre-match playlist at the Aviva Stadium could have included Mack the Knife by Bobby Darin, or maybe Who’s the Mack by Ice Cube, but, as events transpired, the choice of Mark Morrison’s 1996 hit Return of the Mack hit the right note.
Mack Hansen’s reimagination as a fullback for Ireland, a debut of sorts in his 29th cap, was an unadulterated triumph. While three tries are a focal point for the highlights reel, the quality of his all-round game is equally captivating.
A foot injury sustained on the Lions tour suffered another ding in his only appearance for Connacht this season. Short on game time but not on confidence, as befits a man who wore one black boot and one white boot – much to the good-natured chagrin of head coach Andy Farrell – he played with a freedom that defied the rigours of the occasion.
His ubiquitous influence was to be found in many aspects of the game, but the one that carried most appeal for teammates and supporters was watching the white-capped crusader swan dive over the Australian line. Not once, not twice but three times, taking his tally to 15 for his adopted country.
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As if grabbing a hat-trick wasn’t enough of an imposition on the country of his birth, the Australian media were quick to first point out, and then lament, that Hansen fell into the one-that-got-away category.
Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt observed, ruefully: “Unfortunately, Mack was probably the standout Australian player on the field. He’s got a great skill set and he’s such a great competitor. He got into the aerial contest really well, covered the backfield really well and those are the aspects of a fullback that you need to have.”
Injuries to Hugo Keenan and Jamie Osborne provided the opportunity, but the decision to select Hansen at fullback is not so much left-field. It is more an acknowledgment of his talents that he can carry out the long list of duties required for that position in Test rugby.
He’s good aerially, as exemplified by one superb GAA-style catch, hands above the head, and another when he tore after a garryowen and caught the ball, almost over his shoulder on the outskirts of the Australian 22.
Hansen possesses the kicking and passing skills that enable him to be a playmaker in the wider channels but it’s also his ability to scan, read the game, hold his depth and then glide into position that makes him such a difficult player to track for opponents.
He displayed many of these traits when playing on the wing, when working infield on the lookout for a straggler in defence.
On Saturday, Hansen popped up several times as the first receiver from phase play, either instead of the otherwise occupied Sam Prendergast, or it was a case of the Irish fullback allowing his outhalf to drift deeper into the midfield as a secondary passing pivot. The facility to interchange those primary jobs will be an integral part of Ireland’s attacking evolution.
Hansen was the first to acknowledge the role that others played in his tries and none more so than the luckless Stuart McCloskey, once again bedevilled by an injury, but not before the Wallabies felt the full brunt of his ball carrying.
For the fullback’s second and third tries, McCloskey powered hard through the initial contact to occupy multiple tacklers and carry possession well beyond the gainline. On the first occasion, it was the Ulster player’s spin and pass, riding a tackle in the process, that provided a pivotal involvement.
“That’s the pleasure of playing with this team, I literally had to grab the ball and run over the line,” said Hansen. “I didn’t have to do much. Everybody else is doing their job for me, making it easy for me. We pride ourselves on making each other look good and the boys did that for me.
“It feels unbelievable. Any opportunity to play at the Aviva in front of these fans is an absolute privilege and to do it in style like we did, it’s good going into the Springboks [match]. I missed being in this team, I know there’s a lot of chat about me not necessarily being born here and I didn’t grow up here, but I love this team and this feels like home.
“Any time I get to play for Ireland, it’s a privilege. If you don’t put in a performance, you might not get that privilege again.”
Only the churlish would question Hansen’s commitment from an Irish perspective.
Going forward, perhaps Hansen can be celebrated in a ditty rather than a song title. To shamelessly tweak former Irish Times rugby correspondent Paul MacWeeney’s homily to the great Jack Kyle: “They seek him here, they seek him there, those Aussies seek him everywhere, that paragon of guile and pace, that damned elusive Connacht ace.”
Who knows, Hansen might care to get a tattoo that says as much.
