Mack Hansen urges caution when the Lions take on Western Force

By Duncan Bech, PA Rugby Union Correspondent, Perth

Mack Hansen knows what is awaiting the British and Irish Lions’ in Perth on Saturday after being present as a spectator for the Brumbies’ famous upset of the tourists on their last visit to Australia.

Hansen starts on the right wing against Western Force at Optus Stadium where he will face some of his old Brumbies team-mates, including a former housemate in Bayley Kuenzle.

The 27-year-old was born and raised in Canberra and began his career playing for the most successful of Australia’s Super Rugby franchises before joining Connacht in 2021.

Selection for Ireland the following year was made possible through his Irish mother and 28 caps later he is on tour with the elite of British and Irish rugby, recalling a cautionary tale from 2013.

“I was at that Brumbies game with my dad and brother and the Brumbies beat the Lions, so these things do happen,” he said.

“We were sitting behind the goalposts watching it. It was mad. You don’t expect anyone to actually do it, but I talked to guys after that and they’d been pumped up for the game for weeks, working towards it.

“They saw it as the be-all and end-all. Also, guys are playing to try to get into the Wallabies as well, so there’s still a lot on the line for a lot of these teams.

“None of the games are going to be easy. Everyone wants to win – it’s not just us that want to win.

“We want to win every game but the Force aren’t saying ‘all right boys, let’s go out and lose by 40’. They’ll be coming out thinking ‘we can cause an upset’. They’ve only got one game, then they’re on holiday.

“There will be this, then they’ll have 10 toes up for the next five weeks, so I’m sure they’re going to give it their all.

“When you get that time after time after time after time for however long we’re here, it will take its toll on us, but that’s a good thing. It makes us better and it makes the game more exciting.”

Any doubt the Lions have a target on their backs was immediately dispelled by the 28-24 defeat by Argentina in Dublin that the heavy underdogs from South America celebrated as if they had won the World Cup.

Hansen knows that any more setbacks will be poorly received by the Lions’ coaching team.

“We are four of the best teams and have some of the best players in the world. You should be winning every time, so every time it’s a loss that just isn’t good enough,” he said.

“That’s the best thing that this group has on its shoulders at the moment because we know that and as disappointed as we were, we don’t want to feel that again.

“If anything, it’s good to feel it early and then we know that we’ll get our heads absolutely chewed off if it happens again, so the plan is to win from here on out.

“A lot of the chat has been about us and what we need to improve. The only thing that can beat us is us really.”