Mack Hansen disciplinary hearing on referee comments set for Wednesday

Mack Hansen will face a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday regarding his comments made in the aftermath of Connacht's URC loss to Leinster before Christmas.

The 26-year-old Ireland international winger hit out at perceived ongoing bias against his club from officials.

In a remarkable post-match press conference in Aviva Stadium on 21 December, Hansen interrupted head coach Pete Wilkins to double-down on remarks where he felt Connacht were being pressured by "16 men".

The Canberra native told RTÉ Sport: "It's like we get that every time so you can hear the frustration in my voice 'cos it’s starting to get to the point where, honestly, it’s bull***t."

Wilkins made contact with the referees' boss Tappe Henning in the aftermath of the press conference to provide context to the comments.

However Hansen, who has scored 13 tries in 27 Ireland appearances, will now appear before a committee on Wednesday and face a breach of the disciplinary rules related to misconduct.

Under the URC disciplinary guide, law 3.3.13, "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."

The URC clarified that "as the incident occurred off the field there was no automatic requirement for a disciplinary panel to convene ahead of Connacht's immediate fixture following the Leinster game."

Connacht are next in action against