Mack Hansen has lifted the lid on moments of naked high jinks on the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour and also revealed what the Ireland squad is like with drinks on board, including head coach Andy Farrell.<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old Connacht winger is currently recovering from foot surgery in December and has been appearing on a variety of shows to help pass the time. Last month, he popped up on KOKO<\/a>, an Australian rugby podcast, with Matt Giteau, Drew Mitchell and Adam Ashley-Cooper during a trip home for a wedding.<\/p>\n Now, he has invited For the Love of Rugby<\/a>, fronted by ex-England duo Ben Youngs and Dan Cole, to join him in Galway for an hour-long interview that was filmed in a pub and was a very much no-holds-barred conversation.<\/p>\n Youngs and Cole had their homework done before the visit to Ireland, contacting Ellis Genge to get an inside track from the Lions tour on the player from Canberra, and the shenanigans began with the story about Hansen naked wrestling the England prop after he provoked him one time too many.<\/p>\n \u201cSaw that look in his eye and knew I was in for a bit of trouble\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think Ellis was naked, but I was fully nude getting manhandled by Ellis Genge<\/a>\u2026 It\u2019s honestly haunts me to this day,\u201d quipped Hansen. \u201cYou obviously think he is a d***head in your head, and then you meet him and yeah, he is still a d***head, but you love him.\u201d<\/p>\n So how did the wrestling match materialise? \u201cI was throwing a bit of fuel on the fire and testing him a bit. It flicked the switch. I saw that look in his eye and I knew I was in for a bit of trouble. And yeah, worn like a glove is probably pretty on par with what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n Genge also served on the Lions fines committee and had also tipped Youngs and Cole off about another infamous incident where Hansen was left exposed. \u201cAll these stories are going to make me sound like a nudist,\u201d he chuckled.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is the night I did my foot, and I wasn\u2019t drinking either, which makes it worse that I was doing this completely sober. Jack Conan<\/a> was the doctor, so he had a big doctor\u2018s coat on and I had a little sexy nurse\u2019s outfit and it was pretty low cut, low cut enough that my penis was hanging down the bottom of it.<\/p>\n \u201cSo my penis was hanging out the whole time, which was a pretty good gag. The only person that refused, who didn\u2019t want me to give him a shot, was Maro, \u2018I\u2019m alright, thanks\u2019. There were a few guys taking shots off Jack. It was a good gag.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u2018headbutting competition\u2019 with ex-All Black that the \u2018too bullish and pig-headed\u2019 David Nucifora now regrets and his damning \u2018emotional\u2019 verdict on the Ireland team he joined<\/a><\/p>\n Sticking with the Lions, Hansen revealed some of the people whose good-natured character he was surprised by. \u201cI found Sione Tuipulotu just the funniest man<\/a>. The way he speaks and tells stories is almost infectious.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce you meet him, you\u2019d understand. He can really hold the room. The way he talks, I find it just hilarious. Who else did I think was a grump and then\u2026 no, in fairness everyone going in you just don\u2019t know what you are going to get from. Then, do you, especially the English lads and whatnot? But no, everyone I got on with incredibly well. I don\u2019t have a bad word to say about anyone.<\/p>\n \u201cThe character I didn\u2019t expect to be was Pierre Schoeman; he\u2019s the complete opposite of what you think he is going to be. He is like the biggest kid ever; he acts like a 10-year-old kid the whole time. It\u2019s mental.\u201d<\/p>\n Having dissected the Lions and spoken about some of the tour\u2019s fun bus characters, Hansen switched to the goings-on within the Ireland camp, talking about going on the beer with his boss Farrell, naming assistant coach John Fogarty as the \u2018King of Craic\u2019 and revealing that Dan Sheehan is quite the drinker.<\/p>\n Asked if he had ever been on the p*** with Farrell, Hansen said: \u201cI have, I\u2019ve had the pleasure. I always gravitate to Faz once I\u2019ve had a few beers as well. The coaching staff, in general, the whole coaching staff, Paulie (O\u2019Connell), Fogs, Goody [Andrew Goodman] now, Johnny (Sexton) is in there now as well. Aled (Walters) is a legend. It\u2019s the only way you can describe him.<\/p>\n Rassie Erasmus weighs in after \u2018honest and fearless\u2019 Eddie Jones launched broadside against Ireland and World Rugby<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cOnce I have had a few, I am in there and you eventually get a tap on the shoulder, \u2018Alright, f***in leave him alone now\u2019. But then it picks up again. If anything, you can say it\u2019s Faz\u2019s Achilles heel. Not like he is a bad drunk, but you\u2019d expect him to be able to drink all day and be completely fine, but once he has a few, he gets a bit sloppy from time to time. When he is in that mood as well, it\u2019s very funny.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the best people on the p*** is Fogs. John Fogarty is arguably one of the funniest men in the world. He just comes out with these crazy stories, first of all, but then his jokes and his comedic timing.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, some people just always seem to hit the nail on the head with a joke or something, even a situation. That\u2019s why Fogs is the King of Craic, we say, because every morning his whole job is to get the energy up, get people going, and there is no better man for it. He\u2019s a funny man.\u201d<\/p>\n Sticking with the drinking theme, Hansen<\/a> then brought up the name of hooker Sheehan when asked who is the Ireland team\u2019s biggest drinker is. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely not me. I\u2019m unfortunately a terrible drunk. That\u2019s probably why I have got so many stories. Dan Sheehan can send them back, I\u2019d say him.<\/p>\n \u201cHe can really send them. He\u2019ll get to a point where he is pretty hammered, but it would take a while to get there, and he is a quick drinker too. His old man is one of the most impressive drinkers I have ever seen.<\/p>\n \u201cHe brought him to the World Rugby Awards in Monaco and this is the perfect story to describe them. He bought us two beers each straight away, two Asahi, so I am getting through mine and I have like my first sip and Barry has finished his completely.<\/p>\n Ireland\u2019s Mack Hansen calls out \u2018big media explosion\u2019 and reveals inspiring Andy Farrell story that convinced him to play against Springboks despite \u2018agony\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSo, getting through his second and that\u2019s gone in no time, and I get just down to the end of my first drink and looking for my second and Barry has polished off. He\u2019s like, \u2018You\u2019re too slow, mate, too slow\u2019. He had three drinks just before I had finished one, so it has just carried down through the generations.\u201d<\/p>\n Which player brings the energy to the Ireland team? \u201cCraig Casey is just a ball of energy. I\u2019ll give it to Craig. He is always just incredibly hyper. He has the energy of a six-year-old kid. He is just like bopping around the place, never in bad form. I\u2019m convinced he doesn\u2019t sleep either. I think, honestly, he is awake 24\/7 and it doesn\u2019t bother him at all. It\u2019s mad.\u201d<\/p>\n