Brumbies pair recall time with Ireland's 'cult hero' Mack Hansen

Joe Schmidt isn't the only overlap between this Wallabies team and Ireland.

Of the Australian Super Rugby franchises, the Brumbies are currently the biggest populator of the Wallabies squad – eight of them feature in Saturday's matchday 23, and several of those know one of Ireland’s players intimately

Mack Hansen spent three years coming through the grades at the Canberra side before making the move to Connacht in 2021. A Canberra native, the mazy winger was Irish-qualified through his Cork-born mother, and just over half a season after moving to Galway he was an Irish international, and will win his 25th cap this weekend against the country of his birth.

Two Brumbies – full-back Tom Wright and loosehead prop James Slipper – were on media duty for the Wallabies this week, and it would be an understatement to say their eyes lit up at the first mention of their former team-mate.

"He’s obviously quickly become one of the cult heroes over here for a good reason," said Wright, who will line out in the back-field this weekend, for his 37th Australia cap.

"I spent a little bit more time with Mack [than Slipper did], doing backs units in Canberra together.

"[He] plays a brand of football that's entertaining to watch, was always that skilful, talented player when he was in Canberra."

Hansen had been a relative unknown when he had been signed by Connacht in 2021, whose head coach at the time Andy Friend is also a native of the Australian capital.

And Wright says it came as no surprise to see how quickly his former backline partner made his mark in Ireland.

"He was probably just behind a fair few talented guys in that position, he was sort of a 10/15 coming through the Brumbies ranks, and he was one of the favourite guys in the locker room.