The Connacht wing earned this third player-of-the-match award in eight Six Nations appearances for Ireland.
ILLUSTRATIVE OF MACK Hansen’s performance against Scotland was the fact that Sam Warburton named him player of the match even in a game when Josh van der Flier fairly capably threw into Ireland’s lineout and Cian Healy monstered Scotland’s scrum from hooker.
The Ireland head coach would likely acknowledge, too, that Hansen is the type of rugby footballer who probably doesn’t need such psychological preparation: if a giant meteorite was hurtling towards the earth, you would probably still find Mack Hansen with a ball in his hand, impishly jinking his way through the screaming masses and looking to feed a support runner.
One of those key Hansen involvements led to a try for his kindred spirit on the opposite flank. Jamison Gibson-Park’s decision to box kick a contestable from between the Scottish 10-metre line and 22′ seemed a curious one but any Irish bewilderment instantly gave way to guttural noise as Hansen took the skies and seized the ball over the comparably giant figure of Duhan van der Merwe.
Hansen’s own first-half try, a fitting finish in the right-hand corner to a picture-perfect left-handed pass by Hugo Keenan, steadied Ireland at a time when Scotland had ripped back the early momentum. It all felt jarringly simple as Jack Conan crossed near the right-hand corner. Where had the space come from?
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