Ireland rugby star says only ONE Wallabies player knows how to sledge – as he brands the rest of the team ‘not very witty or smart’ and predicts ‘war on the field’ when sides meet
- Mack Hansen knows several Wallabies well after playing for the Brumbies
- Believes only one member of the team is mentally sharp enough to sledge well
- Winger says Aussies will be dangerous opponents after shock loss to Italy
Ireland winger Mack Hansen has taken a hilarious shot at the Wallabies ahead of the sides’ clash on Sunday, revealing he thinks there’s only one member of the team who’s sharp enough mentally to come up with a decent insult.
Canberra-born Hansen – who has represented Ireland in eight matches after debuting for them this year – played alongside several of the Aussies during his four seasons with the Brumbies and didn’t hold back when asked to rate his opponents.
‘They can’t sledge for s**t,’ he said.
‘”Whitey” [Wallabies scrum half Nic White] will be chirpy like always but the rest of them aren’t very witty or smart.’
Hansen got to know several Wallabies very well during the four seasons he spent with the Brumbies before making his debut for Ireland earlier this year
He says only scrum-half Nic White (pictured playing against France earlier this month) is capable of delivering a witty sledge
The tongue-in-cheek remarks will likely be taken in good humour by Hansen’s former teammates, who he still has a lot of time for.
‘All the Brumbies lads, I’m fantastic mates with. I grew up with Lachy Lonergan and Nick Frost was my roommate back home,’ he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘That’s obviously going to be a pretty funny one but then there’s other guys like Tom Wright, all the forwards, all the ‘usos’ [Samoan for “brother”] in the team.
‘It’s about going to war on the field and then afterwards just being able to have a laugh about it and be able to enjoy a quiet beer or two.’
The Irish are huge favourites heading into the match at Dublin at 7am Sunday (AEDT) as the Wallabies seek to reverse a shocking run of form that has seen them struggle to beat Scotland, endure a heartbreaking one-point loss to France and fall to Italy for the first time ever in their last three outings.
The Aussies have been slammed from pillar to post after losing to Italy for the first time ever last weekend – and Hansen insists that makes them dangerous
Hansen insists his team aren’t taking the Aussies lightly, though – and he predicts they will bounce back hard after coming in for waves of criticism after the loss to Italy last weekend.
‘They have such world-class players. Having lost is definitely going to have blown smoke up their a**e,’ he said.
‘They will be coming out with all guns blazing … it’s going to be a cracking game.’