Quest for a Lions clean sweep begins NOW as Andy Farrell's side eye nine out of nine in Australia with plenty at stake in Western Force opener
When the Lions last toured Australia, a dozen years ago, Mack Hansen was sitting in the stand with his family as the Brumbies produced an historic, seismic upset to beat the iconic visitors in Canberra.
So, the Ireland wing knows, from first-hand experience, all about the dangers which lie in wait for the British and Irish tourists over the days and weeks ahead, as they seek to conquer all-comers and establish thunderous momentum for the Test series against the Wallabies. He knows that they will face opponents hell-bent on overcoming a vastly superior, four-nation alliance to earn their place in rugby folklore, by claiming arguably the most prized scalp in the sport.
Starting against Western Force at Optus Stadium on Saturday, the Lions are on a mission for perfection. Having endured a false start to their 2025 crusade by losing the pre-departure money match against Argentina in Dublin, they are targeting a clean-sweep Down Under. 'Faz (Andy Farrell – head coach) set out a challenge for us to win every game,' said Ireland centre Bundee Aki. They slipped up against the Pumas but now they are actually on tour, they want a nine-from-nine return.
The Force will pose a threat to this grand ambition, given the presence of several Australia players in their ranks. They have no intention of being cannon fodder in the manner of their predecessors who lost 69-17 the last time the Lions were here in 2013 and a whopping 116-10 back in 2001. Those were jarring reputational stains for rugby in these parts and the locals are rightly expecting far more of a fight this time, in front of a crowd in excess of 40,000.
But Hansen made no bones about the fact that the Lions should be burdened by expectation here then over on the east coast, for the remaining tour games and Tests. Given the resources at their disposal — the sheer depth of talent available to Farrell across the board, well supported and funded — the tourists have to accept the demand for relentless success.
'If you put the jersey on, we're four of the best teams in the world, so the expectation is to win regardless of who you're playing,' he said. 'If you have some of the best players in the world, you should be winning every time, so every time it's a loss, it just isn't good enough.
'We know that and as disappointed as we were (after the 28-24 defeat against Argentina), we don't want to feel that again. If anything, it's good to feel it early. We know we'll get our heads absolutely chewed off if it happens again, so the plan is to win from here on out. If you get the opportunity to be on this tour and play in the red jersey, you should be winning games.'
The first outing since the Lions arrived here last Sunday will pit them against six Force players who will join up with the Wallabies after this encounter — Nic White, Ben Donaldson, Darcy Swain, Tom Robertson, Dylan Pietsch and Nick Champion de Crespigny. Next up, Farrell's side will travel to Brisbane to take on the Reds, who will also be bolstered by Australia players who have been cleared to represent their franchise team.
This trip started with Lions chief executive Ben Calveley demanding that Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt releases members of his squad to take part in the tour games. Time will tell whether that request — and associated warning about adhering to the tour agreement — comes back to bite him and the Lions. The phrase 'be careful what you wish for' may just spring to mind in due course.
While there is considerable, understandable expectation on the Lions to swat aside these provincial opponents, sometimes that doesn't happen. While upsets are rare, Hansen was present for the last one in this country, as his home-town Brumbies beat Warren Gatland's visitors 14-12. It didn't halt the Lions' charge towards a Test series victory, but it was a result which reverberated nonetheless — earning the victors vast acclaim and, in some cases, international honours.
'On the last Lions tour, I was at the Brumbies game and the Brumbies beat them (Lions),' said Hansen. 'I was with my dad and my brother. We were sitting behind the goalposts watching. It was mad. You don't expect anyone to actually do it but I talked to guys after and they'd been pumped up for the game for weeks.
'They saw it as the be-all and end-all. Also, guys are playing to get into the Wallabies, so there's a lot on the line for a lot of these teams. When you come up against a big team like us, those (opposition) guys will definitely be up for that. They've only got one game then they're on holiday, all these teams, as well.
'I don't think any of the games are going to be easy. Everyone wants to win. We're not playing the Force this week with them saying, 'Alright boys, let's go out and lose by 40'. They'll be coming out thinking: 'We can cause an upset'. Things do happen. We are not taking anyone lightly.'
Frankly, the Lions should win with plenty of room to spare on Saturday, although perhaps not by 40 points. Farrell knows that the home team have proved their resilience, despite a challenging Super Rugby campaign. 'They had nine losing bonus points this year, which says it all really, that they don't go away,' he said.
Dan Sheehan (centre) will skipper the Lions with regular captain Maro Itoje sitting this one out
As ever on these tours, selection sub-plots will ensure there is no shortage of individual motivation for the Lions players, even if there might still be a shortage of collective cohesion. They all know the clock is ticking towards the deadline to make a case for Test inclusion, ahead of the Test series opener in Brisbane on July 19.
The next fixture against the Reds looms as a tough assignment, as does the clash with the Brumbies seven days later. In between, the Waratahs appear more beatable in Sydney and the Australia-New Zealand invitational side cobbled together to face the Lions in Adelaide could struggle to compete.
On that basis, Farrell could be planning to deploy his strongest side for the next two midweek matches, which means the players on duty on Saturday are under pressure to force their way into that rotation. The likes of captain Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Beirne, Finn Russell, Sione Tuipulotu and James Lowe are among those capable of earning that promotional shift.
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The Guardian
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Expect Farrell's frustrations to vanish: the Lions will prioritise hunger and energy
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BBC News
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'The only team that can beat us is us'
In looking forward to his first start for the British and Irish Lions, against Western Force on Saturday, Mack Hansen couldn't stop himself from looking back to last Friday night's defeat by Argentina and the lessons learned."The only team that can beat us is us," he says, an arresting line from a compelling character. "If we're not on it and we're not doing things to the best of our ability, then that's what's going to let us down."Hansen came off the bench against Argentina and made a fine impact, not that you could tell that from his demeanour when talking about it. The Ireland wing is laid-back, for sure, but the quirkiness and the chilled persona is only part of who he a deadly seriousness about him, too. "I've officially become a Lion, which is incredible and everything, but we lost, so it was a real weird vibe. We're four of the best teams in the world, so the expectation is to win regardless of who you're playing."There were a few excuses that we could have had [for the loss to the Pumas] but we've thrown them out the door. We have some of the best players in the world and you should be winning every time. We'll get our heads absolutely chewed off if it happens again. So the plan is to win from here on out." The Australia-born winger is in from the start on Saturday against the Force, a team containing three of his old mates from the ACT Brumbies, including his old house-mate Bayley Kuenzle, who starts on the bench for the hosts in is made of Hansen's relaxed attitude but he reveals another side of himself. Does he get nervous? Will he be fretful before running out at Optus Stadium on Saturday?"Definitely, yeah, yeah," he says. "You know, come pre-game, I can barely eat anything. You've got the butterflies, you feel sick, you definitely have all that stuff, but you know, it's the best job in the world. I'd rather have those feelings than sitting around not having them."Anyone that says they don't get nervous is lying, to be honest. That's just what comes with playing at those levels because there's a lot at stake. It means something."Hansen, 27, is a curious sort. For a wing, he's not a prolific try-scorer. He's only once registered double-figures for a season as an elite player. He's not tall, he's not all that quick by modern standards, he's not as powerful as many as you see these days. He's far from a physical the sum of his parts is an outstanding package. His intelligence is the key. That's one of the things that his Ireland and Lions coach, Andy Farrell, loves about it. His game awareness, his decision-making, his work-rate, his appreciation of space, his habit of doing the right thing at the right time."I guess the other guys [Duhan van der Merwe, Tommy Freeman and James Lowe] would be a bit quicker and more physical than me. That's just not my game. I try to help out where I can, whether that's getting my hands on the ball, being a player at the back, those sort of things."My main strength is my work off the ball, so that's my focus a lot of the time. Keep working and try to get into the game wherever I can." That's a modest appraisal. Hansen's ability to read a game is interesting on the likely mindset of the Force's players on Saturday. "When you're coming up against a big team such as us, those guys will definitely be able to get up for that," he says."They've only got one game and then they're on holidays. You can rev yourself up. No, we're not expecting anything easy. We're not playing the Force this week with them thinking, 'All right, boys, let's go out here and lose by 40'"They're coming out thinking we can cause an upset."Just as the Brumbies did in June 2013. Tevita Kuridrani scored the only try and the Canberra boys won 14-12. "I was at the Brumbies game and the Brumbies beat the Lions," recalls Hansen, who was born and raised in Canberra and qualifies for Ireland and the Lions through his Irish mother."Things do happen. I remember that tour vividly - I remember the buzz around Australia, seeing these players that you never really get to see. It was just amazing, it was just cool to me. Now it's here and I'm doing it and it feels like I'm properly living a dream."The memory of that Brumbies victory was a glorious one once upon a time but now he's using it as a salutary tale, an experience to keep him on his toes. Fear of failure can be a suffocating thing, but used wisely, it can be a powerful force for good."I was with my dad and my brother [at the Brumbies match]. We were sitting behind the goalposts," he says. "It was a mad thing, because you don't expect anyone to actually do it. I've talked to guys about that afterwards, and they were juiced. They'd been pumped up for that game for weeks."Hansen believes the Force will be no different. They've had a lousy season but this is a chance to redeem themselves, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to turn over the fire the underdogs will bring must be doused by captain Dan Sheehan's impressive-looking team - or else that Hansen line about heads being chewed off will resurface.
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