LAST UPDATE | 7 Jan
CONNACHT HEAD COACH Pete Wilkins said he was unaware Mack Hansen was going to launch a broadside at referees when he sat down beside him at the post-match press conference following their loss to Leinster at the Aviva Stadium last month.
Wilkins said he had no inkling that the Irish winger was going to launch stinging criticism of match officials, an outburst which sees Hansen facing misconduct charges when he goes before an independent disciplinary committee tomorrow morning.
“No. It was a normal press conference walking into it,” said Wilkins. “I’d come straight from a radio interview, I think. So, no awareness that was on the cards. But the hearing is tomorrow, so it’d be great to put things to bed after that.”
Wilkins defended Hansen in the aftermath of his comments and said he hopes the Irish international gets ‘a fair hearing’ tomorrow.
“Obviously, the hearing tomorrow, I want to make sure I don’t say anything that’s going to swing anything either way,” added Wilkins.
“I think one of the values of rugby has been the respect for referees, obviously in the professional era, it becomes more complicated.
“So look, if there’s been a conversation started in the public or the media, so be it. I don’t think that was Mack’s intention. But, look, we’ll just see how tomorrow goes and hopefully have a fair hearing and we’ll take it from there.”
Connacht were beaten 20-12 at Aviva Stadium on 21 December and after the game Hansen hit out at perceived bias from URC match officials against Connacht, claiming the western province “never get any calls.”
After saying Connacht were “getting pressured from what seemed like 16 men against us instead of 15”, the winger highlighted two incidents from the game – a tackle from Connacht out-half Josh Ioane on Gus McCarthy which was subject to a lengthy review with no card, and a potential high shot from Jordie Barrett on Bundee Aki which which was not reviewed.
Hansen added that he felt inconsistent officiating has been ongoing issue for the province.
“I’m not making excuses by any means but when you just get it week after week, I feel it’s got to be spoken about because it’s just getting to the point where it’s starting to really piss us off because we just feel we’re getting played out of games and we never ever get any calls,” he said.
In the post-match press conference, Hansen had interrupted a question for Connacht head coach Pete Wilkins to further express his view. Wilkins has since been in contact with URC head of match officials Tappe Henning to discuss the context around the comments.
However Hansen is now facing the prospect of disciplinary action due to a potential breach of URC rules around ‘misconduct.’
URC tournament law 3.3.13 outlines ‘misconduct; as “making comments (including, without limitation, to representatives of the media and/or on social networking platforms or sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or similar) that attack, disparage or criticise (and/or conducting it/ himself/herself in a way that attacks, disparages or criticises) the sport of rugby union, the Championship, other Clubs or Persons, match officials, Pro Rugby Championship, one or more of the Unions and/or any sponsor or other commercial partner of the Championship or Pro Rugby Championship.”
Connacht take on Lyon and Cardiff in the Challenge Cup over the next two weekends before a URC clash with Glasgow Warriors. Ireland then open their Six Nations campaign at home to England on 1 February.
- Additional reporting by Ciaran Kennedy
Mack was only speaking the truth. It is quite plain to see over the last couple of years. It is the referees that should be facing disciplinary hearings. They are bringing the game into disrepute.
I am a Leinster fan by the way!!
@Ollie Fitzpatrick: Leinster fan or not, what you espouse is still plain wrong. Without referees, good or bad, we don’t have a game. There is a behind the scenes review system for all referees at all levels and, trust me, it is very thorough and quite harsh at times. The general public do not need to see the results of these reviews as the most non partisan of supporters can still be guilty of reffing on one side of the ball. Mack was bang out of order, even if he was speaking the truth.
@Ollie Fitzpatrick: I believe officials are subconsciously reffing based on what they expect to happen rather than what’s actually happening. Of course, the obvious stuff gets picked up for both sides usually but the perceived better teams are getting away with more marginal calls. It’s not a deliberate strategy, rather a subconscious bias or notions – for example I expect Toulouse to boss the breakdown and the other team to try and slow them down so I’m ultra strict on the other team slowing the ball but I don’t ref ST there. Perhaps the refs could be getting specific training on overcoming bias a bit like workplace training to overcome inmate prejudices. I think Mack is a whistleblower here and the URC would be better dealing with the issue highlighted rather than punishing M.
@Ollie Fitzpatrick: Agree Ollie. Read Gerry Thornley today, piece he wrote in 2008. Also a quote from Matt Williams, while Leinster coach
@Ollie Fitzpatrick: Absolute nonsense and typical of the armchair warrior berating of referees that goes on on a constant basis now. They are human, it’s an incredibly complex game so it’s impossible to be perfect. After, the players regularly make mistakes during each game (hence penalties). Mack was speaking with limited evidence in a game where their opposition conceded 15 penalties and 2 yellows (1 for repeat infringement but Connacht didn’t get a warning despite having 14). This anecdotal evidence approach of “it’s plain to see over the last couple of years” is devoid of actual factual evidence to support it. Referees jobs are hard enough as it is and this type of attack only makes it worse. Very soon there will be no professional refs if people like you have their way.
@Ollie Fitzpatrick: agree . From a Munster fan.
@Paul Ennis: So he was speaking the truth???
@Ollie Fitzpatrick: My opinion on the truth is irrelevant. He believes it wholeheartedly. It doesn’t mean he should say it publicly. I have an ex Brother-in-law who believes wholeheartedly that the earth is flat and evolution is the scripture of the devil. I absolutely know that he is not lying and he believes he is speaking the truth. But I know it is not true. Israel Falou should have kept his religious beliefs to himself and he would not have been sacked. There are certain things that you cannot say and keep your job not matter how true you believe them to be.
@Paul Ennis: how can he be out of order for speaking the truth !!! He showed courage which is more than the Referee’s he complaining did.
@Joe Connolly: Do you believe Donald Trump’s “truth”. A very high percentage of American’s believe it. Doesn’t make it true. Lots of people in this country believe that Simon Harris tells the truth and just as many believe that Mary Lou does too! Which version is the “truth” or is it somewhere in the middle. Maybe you would rather see a debate about rugby, but I would prefer to see rugby played across the country with bad referees than no rugby at all. Mack set a dangerous precedent that will legitimise 16 year olds telling their amateur referee the “truth” on Saturday morning… when the parents and coaches join in, all bets are off. Within 3 years you will have to referee the game yourself without any experience because there are no branch referees available. Is that safe?
@Michael Corkery: yes Michael you’ve hit the nail on the head. They are prejudging moments in the game. It’s not consigned to rugby it happens across the board. The big teams normally get the marginal calls. The issue Mack had was the blatantly obvious calls that went against Connacht in that particular game was too much to just take lying down. It’s refreshing to see a lot of Leinster supporters on here agree
As far as I know Connacht have been at the raw end of treatment from the time IRFU wanted them disbanded. From pundits to the media the other provinces and the IRFU we get the raw end so it’s not surprising that refs would have that mindset as well. So many resources are lacking for Connacht that might propell it further up the leader board.
@Joe Kennedy: a rock of sense as always Joe!
There are an awful lot of conspiracy theorists around these days not only in their home land in America but also alas in the narrower confines of Irish rugby. How often have we heard that Joe Schmidt and Farrell had blue tinted glasses on while picking an Irish team as if a coach would knowingly ignore a better player from another province and lessen his chance of victory. As regards referees, the vast, vast majority are impartial and if any one is not then he or she won’t last long. They know the camera is honed in on every decision they make with not on the rugby World watching but crucially also their assessor in the stand or wherever. Why would any ref deliberately favour any team over another knowing he was going to get demoted for doing so.
@Tom Reilly: think the point might be it’s not deliberate but preconceived notions or subconsciously they assume leinster will be better in the scrum than connacht(for example) and then tend to lean this way. Ireland suffer from this at time to time also. Big teams have always got more favourable decisions
@Barry newell: In the past you may have a point but in my opinion in recent times referees are slower to penalise an obvious weaker scrum unless a prop hits the ground under sustained pressure. I understand your point about the subconscious but conversely it can play tricks on the soundest of minds where a ref sometimes favours the underdog in pursuit of impartiality.
@Tom Reilly: I should have inserted, “perceived”impartiality. Subtle difference.
Throw the book at him..you can’t criticise a ref for not sin binning Jordie for a hit shot! didn’t spend all that money to have Barrett in the bin! The cheek of Mack Hansen!
@James Dowling: Spot on, James. No need to sugar coat it
If this was Etzebeth or Erasmus making these kinds of comments after a game against Ireland, the whole sentiment would be different. Just because Mack plays for a smaller club, it doesn’t make his commentary any more correct or noble. It was a nonsense statement at the time and he will hopefully be punished accordingly.
@Gary D: Let us know when he publishes a 30 minute video highlighting every small call that went against connacht and saying the ref was racist to his teammates….
@Robert O’Connor: I’m not sure what this really has to do with my comment. Replace Etzebeth and Erasmus with Savea and Razor then. The overall point is that people are patronising Mack and Connacht and giving them a pat on the head “shur isn’t it awful, poor little lambs” when we all know that the refs aren’t biased and if those words came out of the mouths of anybody playing for a larger team, they would get pilloried for it. And rightly so, what’s good for the goose us good for the gander
@Gary D: It’s relevant because that’s what Erasmus did and got punished for, it was heinous, this is nowhere near that level so let it play out and see how long a ban he gets before crying about it.
@Robert O’Connor: You’re entirely missing the point. He was saying if Rassie did what Mack did we would see it differently. He’s not saying what Mack did was comparable to Rassie’s worst. So no, it’s not relevant.
The game of rugby includes those officiating too. Players get a hell of a raking from fans but the officiating gets a tipping of the hat as though they are sacrosanct. There needs to be a review of officiating in a professional manner, just like Nigel Owen does.
However, I thought the officiating on the night was better than usual. So I understand his pain but not for the same match. Just my opinion.
@Con Cussed: There is constant evaluation of referees at every level and whilst I am not familiar with the professional process, it is my understanding that they are debriefed after every single game.
@Paul Ennis: I can understand that is the process but we don’t see the level of officiating improving which you would expect after a review. For all of us that have gone through a job review process you either take on board the feedback and try to improve (maybe in small steps) or look for a job elsewhere. Embracing the areas for improvement helps lift the game as well, even if it is just reinforcing the positive elements of the officiating. Would love to see Nika Amashukeli helping URC improve their officiating, he’s one of the best in world rugby.
@Con Cussed: I think a big issue is how complex reffing of the breakdown is in particular. There’s so much going on. It’s rightly said that if you look at any breakdown, there’s usually more than one offense and offender so it seems that refs go in on certain areas and police those rather than trying to make everything strictly legal. Probably that’s something that the ref prepares pre-game knowing the types of things the participating teams do. It’s not a deliberate favoring of one team over another but it often seems like that to the naked eye.
@Con Cussed: Not sure what planet you are currently residing on but every single game now has constant complaints about refereeing and certainly no tipping of hats. Refs are under more scrutiny than ever to the point that I would wonder why in god’s name anyone would want to be a ref
@Con Cussed: it’s a hell of a hard job though. I wouldn’t want to be a ref
All the naysayers coming out to defend appalling officiating that we know is not penalised because the same officials return week after week.
But apart from that I don’t see any of them address his main objection which is why are Connacht Interpro’s the exception in only being refereed by IRFU offcials?
The most recent examples over Christmas?
Sam Grove-White reffed Munster-Leinster with Mike Adamson TMO. While Connacht-Ulster was Andy Brace and Olly Hodges.
The Matches the week that broke Hansen’s restraint, Ulster-Munster had Ben Whitehouse and Aled Griffiths, meanwhile Leinster – Connacht had Chris Busby and Mark Patton.
Let’s not pretend that this is unusual either in respect of Connacht, I guarantee that every Interpro series for years the same anomaly occurs, this season Brace reffed the game in Belfast, Eoghan Cross did Leinster in Galway, and Busby the one in Thomond earlier this season…
@Sea Point: all the South African derbies are reffed by SA referees..I don’t get your point. Are you saying there’s a bias in play because all of Connacht games have Irish refs ? Probably would cost too much money shipping refs around 5 countries to ensure from neutral countries
@Sea Point: Don’t say that as if Leinster never played Munster while being reffed by Frank Murphy
@Robert O’Connor: maybe Robert, but you didn’t get Frank Murphy followed by Peter Fitzgibbon, followed by John Lacey, followed by feckin Grorge shaggin Clancy… :-D
And Frank Murphy if anything was always way harder on Connacht (as his last club, to prove he wasn’t biased)…
@Stuart: possibly Stu if there were only South African officials available, but you can fly Welsh, Scottish or Italian officials to Dublin in an hour or so for £70 with advanced booking… :-D
@Sea Point: Feels made up tho.
On last week’s podcast, Jackman expressed the opinion that Hansen had been put up to his outburst by Wilkins as there was no rationale for Hansen to be attending that Press Conference – as he wasn’t the captain, for example. At any rate, if you re-watch the start of his ‘outburst’ with that thought, Wilkins’ immediate acceptance of Hansen’s allegedly unanticipated offer to interject is somewhat consistent with that theory
Officiating at amateur level is a thankless job and the traditional rugby virtues of respecting the referees at that level and not criticising them should be fully respected as they are volunteers. I don’t think that level of deference should carry through to the pro game. Most top level refs are fully employed within the game and this cohort must be subject to scrutiny if they make material errors that affect game outcomes. Connacht are striving to finish as high in the table as they can … their finishing position impacts sponsorship, tv & gate income and this in turn decides what contracts can be offered to existing & new players. Chris Busby’s blatant errors lead to Leinster’s last scoring penalty & cost Connacht at least a losing bonus point so he should be held publicly accountable.
@Clanman: The respect shown for referees at amateur level stems from the elite game long before professionalism. Kids copy elite players mannerisms and behaviour in all sports from celebration style to hair cuts, boots and attitude to the referee is no different. The example for kids must be set by Mack and his peers.
@Paul Ennis: I’m not advocating that we disrespect elite referees but they should be held accountable for any errors that materially change the result of games. We all know that at times many players are simultaneously doing something illegal and the referee could award penalties non stop. The thing is that refs have to decide is what offences are material to the flow and the outcome of the game. Refs are human and will make mistakes but at elite level their mistakes should not materially affect the outcome of the game. The media don’t discuss glaring errors and it seems that referees get a free pass at times. Busby did not referee Leinster’s games against Munster or Connacht very fairly (I reckon a 21 point swing against Munster & 10 against Connacht) and this surely merits proper review
@Clanman: They are held accountable behind closed doors by their evaluators and mentors. We don’t get to see it and rightly so. Even the referee at your kids games on a Saturday morning are evaluated at least twice per year. You will never get to see those either. The professional game is done after every game. The problem is that it is not Mack’s job to evaluate referees and that’s where he has crossed the line.
Given that MH was commenting on the URC, don’t ban him for European games he wasn’t go to play in anyway. Ban him for the URC.
@Justin Robinson: Don’t ban him at all and give him a caution as he has a good track record.
@Justin Robinson: it’s not how it works in Rugby but it’s how it is in Football. I agree with you though. It’s crazy that A games can count towards bans. It would be much easier to enforce if the bans applied to the specific competition
@Con Cussed: Do you reckon he’ll turn up (scrum) cap in one hand and a packet of Tim Tams in the other then? I believe his outburst was inappropriate but, equally, if he doesn’t double-down on it at the hearing, he’s going to look like a right wimp.
Wilkins is a coward, deliberately wheeled Hansen out there. Now trying to deny responsibility to protect himself. Way out of his depth a charlatan.
Hansen is an embarrassment. Let’s see if the King of Banter is laughing after he gets a lengthy ban.
As a Leinster fans everyone knows mack as correct. You should not be punished for the truth. Rugby is a disgrace
@Kew Kew: You might be a Leinster gan but I don’t think you are agreeing fan of rugby at your local club. If you did, you wouldn’t have made that comment.
They’ll make an example of him
I appreciate the game needs refs, but with all the technology and assistance they have at hand it is very disappointing to see how poor the standard is. As someone else has already pointed out, despite these internal reviews, the same inept individuals keep reffing. Ben Whitehouse being one of the main people I just can’t understand how he keeps getting games, maybe it’s nepotism. There’s always going to be penalty calls and scrum decisions that go the wrong way, given the complexity of the sport, that’s tolerable. But some of the incorrect calls are just so difficult to take. Awful rugby pundits are putting refs under more pressure, as they are putting an onus on refs to speed the game up, and keep it entertaining, which shouldn’t be their job, just try to make the correct calls. Now we’re seeing more rushed TMO decisions etc. World Rugby is desperately trying to drum up greater engagement in the sport, and taking a hard line against Mack is prioritising defending poor officiating over promoting genuine player interviews. If Mack gets harshly punished, which I can understand why he would tbh, it will discourage players from contributing to post match press conferences and interviews, which is an overall negative for the sport.
@Patrick Breen: fair comment. I’d like the review process to be more transparent, if only so we could all learn the laws. That said, Connacht were poor in their next game after that interview. Any team that wants to get better has to get away from blaming referees
@Mark O’Keeffe: That is one of the major issues… the average fan doesn’t understand many of the laws of rugby, or choses to apply them when and if it suits them. Not sure you can have a transparent review process that is fair for the referees. Would you ask to see the review process for your line manager in work?