IRELAND HAVE BEEN given a boost ahead of the November Tests with news that Connacht expect Mack Hansen to make a swift recovery from his hip injury.
The Ireland right wing was ruled out of Connacht’s clash with Leinster last weekend, watching on from the stand as the western province lost 33-12.
That led to concerns about Hansen’s availability for Ireland’s autumn Tests, which begin against New Zealand on Friday 8 November.
However, speaking after his side’s defeat on Saturday, Connacht boss Pete Wilkins said Hansen should be back soon and could even be fit for this weekend’s URC clash against the Dragons in Galway.
“Mack had a hip pointer, a bang on the hip bone, last week against Ulster and it was only 10 or 15 minutes into the game,” said Wilkins.
“Probably under other those circumstances, other players might well have come off with that injury. It changes your amount of mobility in terms of sidestepping, getting off the ground on high balls.
“We’ve been nursing him through the week, we nursed him through to Thursday and gave him until Thursday to prove himself. He had a run Thursday morning and whilst he could run, the change of direction and jumping he was struggling with.
“I’d be really optimistic about him being right for next week but we just have to see how he settles over the weekend.”
While they get set to welcome Hansen back, Connacht may have lost centre David Hawkshaw to a shoulder injury.
25-year-old Hawkshaw was forced off in pain during the clash with Leinster.
“It’s a pretty sore left shoulder,” said Wilkins.
“It wasn’t the initial contact he made, it was the secondary one on the way down to the ground, so the physio recommended he came straight off. There’s no diagnosis yet, but he was in a sling in the changing room.”
The Connacht boss was disappointed with how his men managed their exit attempts against Leinster, with his side struggling badly into the wind in the first half.
“Incredibly difficult to kick into, but I felt like we went to out-and-out running a little bit too soon,” he said.
“I really liked our bravery to play to space, a couple of times we went right to left where we felt we could get Leinster on that openside edge. I love the way we backed ourselves to try and move the ball there.
“Once we didn’t get that out-and-out linebreak, I thought we probably needed to cut our losses, and probably kicking off nine in that wind, it might only maybe get us 10 or 15 metres, but at least we’re turning the ball into a contest, and giving ourselves a chance of getting those scraps.”
Connacht have been impressive in patches early on this season but they have now lost three of their opening five games, meaning this weekend’s clash against the Dragons in Galway is a huge game.
This is the final weekend of the opening six-game block of the URC season and Connacht are determined to end it with a bang.
“After a disappointing result like tonight where there is that frustration and the guys feel like the opposition deserve the win but at the same time we could have shown a bit more, there is a lull in energy,” said Wilkins.
“We acknowledge that. There’s only so much you can say as a leader in that room.
“But I made sure to remind them that the Dragons are coming. That is a big game for us. It’s a massive game in the context of our season. It’s a massive game in terms of leading into the November break and the Dragons will be targeting this.
“They’re playing some good rugby this year with some ambition about how they’re attacking, some physicality about how they’re defending, they’ve always had a good kicking game with Rhodri Williams there at nine.
“They’re going to be dangerous and if we’re any way off our game in attack, defence, set-piece, then we’ll be found out pretty quickly. We’ve had a couple of those occasions here at Dexcom Stadium where that’s been the case so we can’t afford to be anything other than 100% next week.”
