“Astounded” Eddie Jones defends Ireland star following Lions criticism
Nonsense.
Former England and Australia head coach Eddie Jones has jumped to the defence of an Ireland star following his performance for the Lions against the Western Force over the weekend.
Hansen was panned by some critics, despite high praise from Lions head coach Andy Farrell.
But Jones believes the criticism is unfounded.
Writing for Planet Rugby, Jones said the Connacht winger ‘epitomised the Lions spirit’ on Saturday.
“I was astounded to see a few pundits in the press bagging Mack Hansen‘s performance,” Jones wrote.
“Ok, he got turned over or lost possession five times, but some of the people that watch rugby focus on error count over involvement, which is ridiculous.
“The more interventions, touches you get, tackles you attempt and so on, the greater your chance of making a few errors.
“Hansen’s involvement and work-rate were absolutely off the charts, so the sheer workload he took on meant his error count was always going to be higher.
“He epitomised the Lions spirit, trying everything he could to make himself involved, clearing rucks, challenging in the air and making some quite killer runs – and he’s a leggy bugger – really hard to put down in contact.
“I thought he was great and the guys dissing him were watching a different game to me and he’ll be an absolute glue player for Andy Farrell.”
