Ireland's Peter O'Mahony believes that Irish rugby wouldn't be the same if characters like Mack Hansen did not exist.
Since making his Ireland debut Hansen has become a fan favourite in the Irish rugby team on and off the field, with his brilliant displays mixed with his colourful personality.
There has been speculation from the media that Hansen was left out of the Romania game because of disciplinary issues in Ireland's training camp, but Ireland's coaches have since put that notion to bed.
Hansen was left out of the side because of a selection issue but was quickly brought back in due to Robbie Henshaw's hamstring withdrawal. Hansen was also spotted in just his underwear strolling around the pitch after the Romania game, highlighting his nonchalant demeanor once more.
The Connacht star has been named in the Irish side to face Tonga this Saturday and faced questitons from the media this week.
Speaking in a press conference alongside him, O'Mahony defended his teammate from the media and expressed his admiration for the Connacht winger.
The Mack Hansen story rolled on today in two press conferences.
▪️ First, Andy Farrell once again denied there was any wrongdoing.
▪️ Peter O'Mahony wasn't happy talking about it.
▪️ Then, Mack said "we had a five-minute tiff."
Our panel discuss. 😅#IREvTON | #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/sSFY3tcYtI— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) September 14, 2023
"According to you [the media], he's been nothing but trouble," said Munster captain O'Mahony.
"He's been a breath of fresh air, an incredible character, a good person. We talk about the squad that we have and how important it is to fit in, and straight away we knew he was a top man.
"A character but, above all, he's an incredible athlete and one of the world's best wingers at the moment, which is a great addition to the squad. But, as I said, the overriding factor is that he's a good person and he's seamlessly fitted into our squad like everyone else has.
"He's been great craic, and you need characters like that. The beauty of the game of rugby is the different characters you get, and we'd be lost without guys like this.
"Tours like this are made for being incredibly serious, and obviously our jobs and everything that goes with it, but the craic that fellas like this bring makes it a great place to be."
Hansen was also asked if he would take his shorts off again; the Ireland winger added, "I'm not the first person to take their shorts off after a game. I doubt I'll be the last. I've been told to keep them on this week, so I'll try my hardest, I'll see how I'm feeling."
Ireland's match against Tonga will kick off at 8:00pm (9:00pm local time) on Saturday night. You can watch the game live on ITV (UK) and RTÉ (ROI).
Ireland team
Fullback 15. Hugo Keenan
Winger 14. Mack Hansen
Centres 13. Gary Ringrose 12.Bundee Aki
Winger 11. James Lowe
Out half 10. Johnny Sexton Scrum half 9. Conor Murray
Front row 1. Andrew Porter 2. Ronan Kelleher 3. Tadhg Furlong
Second row 4. Tadhg Beirne 5. James Ryan
Back row 6. Peter O’Mahony 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris
Replacements: 16. Rob Herring 17. David Kilcoyne 18. Finlay Bealham 19. Iain Henderson 20. Ryan Baird 21. Craig Casey 22. Ross Byrne 23. Robbie Henshaw
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