Aussie Hansen’s try double for Ireland, Wallabies next

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Aussie Hansen’s try double for Ireland, Wallabies next

*********** Mack Hansen has shown he’s in the mood for a ****** at his fellow countrymen in Dublin next week after a couple of tries helped Ireland power past Fiji 52-17 at Lansdowne Road.

The Canberra wing, who’s qualified to play in green through his Irish mother and who’s become a big favourite for their fans with his electric speed and cheery persona, is trying to nail down his spot for next weekend’s clash against his compatriots at the same Aviva Stadium.

And though he didn’t have an afternoon when everything went right for him, his double in Ireland’s eight-try romp over a disorganised and ill-disciplined Fijian side on Saturday will give him plenty of hope he’ll be in the side to face Australia in the last match of the Wallabies’ British Isles tour next Saturday.

Hansen was a grand slam winner for Ireland in 2023 but suffered a shoulder dislocation which kept him out of their Six Nations triumph and has since been trying to reestablish his credentials in the November series while not at his very sharpest.

It’s been a difficult autumn for Ireland too as they gave up their proud 19-game home unbeaten run to New Zealand and then nearly saw a big halftime lead evaporate in a narrow win over Argentina.

But the win over Fiji, who conceded 11 of their 17 penalties in the first half alone, felt like a confidence booster even if the Irish did cough up plenty of chances to run in more than the four tries they scored in the opening *******.

Hansen himself may have been guilty of throwing one chance away when his try assist for debutant Cormac Izuchukwu drifted forward.

But after Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier and Craig Casey had gone over, he did get on the scoresheet before the break, latching on to another new boy Sam Prendergast’s smart cross kick.

Another Hansen strike in the second half with others from man-of-the-match Bundee Aki, Ronan Kelleher and Gus McCarthy felt like a decent afternoon’s work for the Irish, with their old boss Jose Schmidt’s confident *********** visitors next on their target list.

But the Irish certainly didn’t come out of the match unscathed in a bruising clash, with Ireland coach Andy Farrell explaining they’re awaiting injury news on Jacob Stockdale (hamstring) and Jamie Osborne (groin).

“It was a lot more pleasing than the last couple of weeks,” Ireland captain Doris said in a pitchside interview, saying Ireland’s discipline had improved but would still have to be better against the Wallabies.

But the 21-year-old flyhalf Prendergast proved their real star attraction once he had got away with just an eighth-minute yellow card for a shoulder-to-head tackle on Kitione Salawa which could easily have been upgraded to red.

As well as setting up Hansen’s opening try and slotting five of seven conversion attempts, he controlled proceedings once he was back in action, and looked as if he has the tools to challenge Jack Crowley for the number 10 jersey.

Fiji had to settle for second-half tries from Salawa and 18-year-old replacement Setareki Turagacoke, who was also sent to the sin bin late on.

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