Ireland wing Mack Hansen will face a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday following comments he made after Connacht’s defeat to Leinster on Saturday, December 21.
Speaking to the media in the aftermath of the United Rugby Championship (URC) loss at the Aviva Stadium, the international star vented his frustrations to the seated press.
He highlighted calls made by referee Chris Busby and the rest of the match officials, with an incident involving a challenge from Leinster centre Jordie Barrett on Bundee Aki which went unpunished earning Hansen’s ire, while he was also unhappy at the length of time it took before a decision was made regarding a high tackle from Josh Ioane.
Unhappy over decisions
“I feel like we get this every week. We never get any calls, ever. I’ve been feeling this for years now,” wing Hansen told reporters in the post-match press conference in Dublin.
“You can’t possibly tell me yourselves sitting there, like checking the Gus McCarthy one, how much? How much did they check that, 10, 11 times? Bundee gets a direct hit to the head, it’s quite obvious, no call, doesn’t care.
“It’s like we get that every time so you can hear the frustration in my voice ’cause it’s starting to get to the point where, honestly, it’s bull***t and it’s starting to get really frustrating for us ’cause people will say we are an inconsistent team but when you are getting some of the calls we’re getting like, of course, you are going to be.”
He added: “I’m not making excuses by any means but like, when you just get it week after week, I feel it’s got to be spoken about because it’s just getting to the point where it’s starting to really piss us off because we just feel we’re getting played out of games and we never ever get any calls.”
Hansen highlighted another incident in which Ioane was forced off the field after taking a hit to his head but no action was taken against his opponent who made the tackle.
“Josh goes off with a direct hit to the head again and I was talking to the touchie and he goes, ‘oh, when you tackle you lead with the head. That doesn’t make any sense, that’s a penalty regardless,” he said.
“He’s actually said he’s hit him in the head with his head but because he was bent over it was fine or something like that, when he’s smacked him in the back of the head with his head and no call at all, not even a look back.
“…It just needs to be said. It’s really f*****g starting to get to us as a team.”
Now, over two weeks after his public outburst, Hansen will appear before a committee this Wednesday and faces a breach of the disciplinary rules related to misconduct.
The URC disciplinary guide, law 3.3.13, reads: “‘Misconduct’ shall mean any act of Foul Play by a Player and/or any conduct, behaviour, statements (including, without limitation, statements made on social networking platforms or sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or similar) or practices by a Club and/or any of its Players … during a Match or otherwise, that is unsporting and/or insulting and/or that brings or has the potential to bring the sport of rugby union, the Championship, other Clubs or Persons, match officials.”
Connacht will be in action this weekend in the Challenge Cup against Lyon in a home fixture before they take on Cardiff away in Round Four of the competition next Friday.
Following the return to URC action the following week, Hansen’s focus will switch to Ireland duty when their Six Nations campaign kicks off against England on February 1.
