'hansen Shines Brightest As Ireland Heed Farrell's Call'

After past week's underwhelming triumph complete Japan, Andy Farrell told his Ireland squad to "get complete themselves" and commencement playing immoderate due rugby.

They listened.

Ireland faded precocious successful nan dispiriting nonaccomplishment to nan All Blacks successful Chicago and took 60 minutes to get going against Japan.

Against Australia, however, they flew retired of nan blocks, pinch Mack Hansen sparkling brightest successful a 46-19 triumph that was Ireland's champion capacity of nan year.

In his first world commencement astatine full-back, Hansen scored a hat-trick of tries, contested brilliantly for precocious balls and was mostly exceptional against nan state he was calved in.

"Look, I've had a beautiful bang mean tally pinch injuries really," Hansen told TNT Sports.

"I missed being successful this team, I cognize there's a batch of chat astir maine not needfully being calved present and I didn't turn up here, but I emotion this squad and this feels for illustration home.

"Any clip I get to play for Ireland it's a privilege, if you don't put successful a capacity you mightiness not get that privilege again.

"My full point this week was to spell retired and do what I tin do."

After 28 caps connected nan wing, Hansen was entrusted astatine full-back for nan first clip pinch Hugo Keenan and Jamie Osborne some injured.

For him, it was a lawsuit of picking up wherever he near disconnected successful nan summer. The 28-year-old was successful awesome shape connected nan British and Irish Lions circuit earlier wounded wrecked his dream of making nan Test team.

And having returned for Connacht past month, he picked up a ft problem that ruled him retired of nan All Blacks and Japan games.

After revealing his squad connected Thursday, Farrell said Hansen had "the spot betwixt his teeth" and they were intelligibly not quiet words arsenic nan erstwhile Brumbies subordinate gave his caput coach an intriguing action headache successful nan adjacent future.

"Well my first thoughts were, 'You amended play good successful those 2 different coloured boots!'," said Farrell, referring to Hansen's determination to deterioration 1 achromatic and 1 achromatic boot.

"I really thought that was really it should person been but apparently Mack conscionable did that himself anyway. So he's drawn attraction to himself earlier he's moreover started.

"I said to him earlier nan game, 'Good players don't request excuses, they tin get connected pinch it and conscionable beryllium themselves, you tin get nan man of nan lucifer if you want,' and he went, 'Yeah, I agree.'

"So he's that type of player, he prepares well, he's sewage a awesome cognition to get crossed his item and truthful that's why he slotted consecutive backmost successful and he was capable to beryllium himself because of that."

Hansen's efforts besides earned praise from Wallabies leader Joe Schmidt, who said he was nan "standout Australian player" connected nan night.

"I thought he was super, his acquisition showed to nan fore," Schmidt, who coached Ireland from 2013 to 2019.

"Unfortunately, Mack was astir apt nan standout Australian subordinate connected nan field. He's sewage a awesome skillset and he's specified a bully competitor."

Pressed connected what makes Hansen a beardown fresh astatine full-back, Farrell added: "Popping up successful nan mediate of nan section is thing that he does from nan helping anyway, but I suppose he's much successful position for that much often.

"His precocious shot worldly was brilliant, wasn't it? I thought we didn't get saturated of doing nan correct point and that was putting nan shot backmost connected them to get nan section position.

"The logic why that was nan correct point to do is because it's nan likes of Mackie who was getting nan balls back, and Lowey etc, truthful [it's] beautiful pleasing."

Outside of Hansen, location were myriad positives for Farrell. Sam Prendergast was fantabulous connected his return to nan 10 jersey, nan scrum and line-out functioned smoothly and Paddy McCarthy did not look retired of spot successful his first commencement successful nan beforehand row.

But possibly astir pleasing for Farrell was Ireland bookending nan crippled pinch 2 awesome spells.

Hansen's first 2 tries came successful nan opening 11 minutes while Ryan Baird and Robbie Henshaw scored successful nan closing exchanges aft Billy Pollard had crossed for nan Wallabies to guarantee nan Irish vanished connected a high.

"I thought we really fto ourselves spell and attacked nan crippled consecutive from nan connection go," said Farrell.

"How we handled tons of bits passim nan game, particularly them coming backmost conscionable earlier half-time and regathering ourselves and giving a capacity for illustration we did successful nan second-half, I thought arsenic acold arsenic section position and being crossed astir of our crippled successful that 2nd half was really pleasing."

The mightiness of South Africa are adjacent up for Ireland, successful what could beryllium considered an unofficial decider to past year's drawn two-Test bid connected Springbok soil.

Farrell's broadside will request to scope different level to hit nan back-to-back world champions, but Saturday's conclusion of nan Wallabies was a important measurement successful nan correct guidance aft an uninspiring commencement to their autumn campaign.