Mack Hansen hits out at match officials in extraordinary X-rated rant ...

Ireland flyer Mack Hansen has delivered an extraordinary rant against the match officials after Connacht suffered a 20-12 defeat against Leinster at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

As the scoreline suggests, the game was tightly contested and the result means Leinster retain their record as the only unbeaten left in the United Rugby Championship (URC) with eight victories in as many fixtures.

However, there were some contentious calls made by referee Chris Busby and the rest of the match officials with an incident involving a challenge from Leinster’s All Blacks centre Jordie Barrett on Bundee Aki which went unpunished earning Hansen‘s ire, while he was also unhappy at the length of time it took before a decision was made regarding a high tackle from Josh Ioane on Gus McCarthy.

“I feel like we get this every week. We never get any calls, ever. I’ve been feeling this for years now,” Hansen told reporters in a press conference after the match.

“You can’t possibly tell me yourselves sitting there, like checking the Gus McCarthy one, how much? How much did they check that, 10, 11 times? Bundee gets a direct hit to the head, it’s quite obvious, no call, doesn’t care.

Connacht’s Mack Hansen shoots from the lip when coach Pete Wilkins is asked about some of the officiating decisions in their loss to Leinster

“We never get any calls, ever … it’s bullshit and it’s starting to get really frustrating”

Story to come on ⁦@ExaminerSport⁩ pic.twitter.com/MnAWu3PbNU

— Brendan O'Brien (@byBrendanOBrien) December 21, 2024

“It’s like we get that every time so you can hear the frustration in my voice ’cause it’s starting to get to the point where, honestly, it’s bull***t and it’s starting to get really frustrating for us ‘cause people will say we are an inconsistent team but when you are getting some of the calls we’re getting like, of course, you are going to be.

“I’m not making excuses by any means but like, 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.”

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Hansen also highlighted another incident in which Ioane was off the field after taking a hit to his head but no action was taken against his opponent who made the tackle.

“Josh goes off with a direct hit to the head again and I was talking to the touchie and he goes, ‘oh, when you tackle you lead with the head. That doesn’t make any sense, that’s a penalty regardless,” he added.

“He’s actually said he’s hit him in the head with his head but because he was bent over it was fine or something like that, when he’s smacked him in the back of the head with his head and no call at all, not even a look back.

“…It just needs to be said. It’s really f*****g starting to get to us as a team.”

Jordie Barrett is a very very very lucky gentleman

— Andy McGeady (@andymcgeady) December 21, 2024

Meanwhile, freelance sports journalist Andy McGeady agreed with Hansen’s take on the Barrett challenge on Aki.

“Jordie Barrett is a very very very lucky gentleman,” McGeady posted on X.

Saturday’s result means Leinster are still setting the pace at the top of the URC standings with 38 points while Connacht are in 10th position 20 points adrift.

Leinster’s next match is against Munster at Thomond Park on Friday while Connacht host Ulster at the Dexcom Stadium on Saturday.

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