It's not just Mack Hansen’s game that has come on in leaps and bounds since he made the switch to Connacht and Ireland, says Scott Fardy.
The Australia-born winger, who moved to Ireland in 2021 and soon became a regular under national team head coach Andy Farrell, was certainly more shy and retiring when he and Fardy, now Connacht’s defence coach, trained together at the Brumbies.
Their paths crossed at the Super Rugby club just before Fardy joined Leinster in 2017.
Fardy was added to Connacht’s coaching ticket earlier this year but had been keeping a keen eye on the 25-year-old, who’s expected to return to provincial action, following his World Cup exploits, against Leinster at the start of next month.
"I trained with Mack a long time ago, he’s talked more since I’ve been here," the 39-year-old told RTÉ Sport ahead of Connacht’s BKT URC clash with the Bulls on Saturday (3pm, live on RTÉ and RTÉ Player).
"When I left he was a young rookie at the Brumbies. He didn’t say much.
"I’ve heard more words out of his mouth since I’ve arrived here in [the last] six months than I knew the whole time when I was in Canberra.
"It’s good. When he came over here I was just really excited for him to get his opportunity to play here at Connacht, but also to go on and be an international player that he is.
"I’m looking forward to working with him when he’s available in the next few weeks.
"He’s a quality player and the boys are very proud of what he’s achieved over the last few years."
Hansen, whose mother comes from Cork, has been a revelation since moving over.
He made his international debut at the start of the 2022 Six Nations and the former electrician has scored nine tries in 21 caps since, including grabbing the only try of Ireland’s 13-8 victory over champions South Africa in the pool stages of the World Cup.
Described by Ireland team-mate Peter O’Mahony as a "breath of fresh air" and, on a previous occasion, as "completely off his fecking game", Hansen’s tendency to avoid cliché has made him stand out among Irish rugby professionals.
In a wide-ranging interview given last summer, he brought an English journalist on a whirlwind tour of Galway, during which time he drank a few pints of Guinness, got a tattoo of Andy Farrell on his leg and jumped off the diving board in Salthill.
"I’ve done all the media training and it’s boring," he said. "It just turns you into a robot."
Fardy, from Sydney, has a theory, and says it extends to fellow Aussie import Finlay Bealham, the Connacht and Ireland tighthead prop.
"Finlay is the same, he’s from Canberra as well," said Fardy with a smile.
"They are strange guys in Canberra, I lived there for six years. It’s a bit of a strange environment to grow up in.
"It produces some really interesting blokes. I know many of them from my time there. It’s interesting, they come over and I guess there’s plenty of free spirits.
"I guess Australians are loud and love to talk about it and do their thing. But every guy is interesting but probably [some] guys, on the surface there you see more of those guys.
"Finlay is another who’s a very interesting character, very funny. You probably don’t see as much from him.
"I guess James Lowe [Leinster and Ireland’s New Zealand-born wing] is another example, a guy who’s kind of a free spirit.
"They all play up to it a bit, I guess, they are not as free-spirited as you think they are."
Former Wallabies forward Fardy won the Champions Cup with Leinster in 2018 and four URC titles before retiring in 2021.
Prior to moving to Galway, he had spells coaching in Japan and Australia, and says he’s been impressed with the set-up in Connacht, who sit joint third in the table after Saturday's win over Sharks.
"There are a number of guys I played with who were at Leinster that were at Connacht," he said.
"Overall, from my time in Australia and Japan, the players here are some of the best players in the world in how they prep, the work they do on computers, how educated they are, the way they approach the game.
"They are pleasure to work with.
"Both environments [Connacht and Leinster], I’ve just been happy to be back here, working with such quality players and staff and most of all people, so I’ve really enjoyed my time over here the last six months.
"I’m looking forward to some good victories again like we had on Saturday.
"I’m really enjoying the processes and, all getting better together, which is what you want."
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