Mack Hansen says he would consider switching to sevens rugby for the chance to play in the Olympic Games.
IRFU performance director David Nucifora announced a fortnight ago that an agreement has been reached to allow one men's player from each of the four provinces to join the Olympics sevens squad. Selected would not prevent players from being part of Ireland's Six Nations campaign.
It is expected that the sevens squad will be named in late June or early July ahead of the Games which take place in Paris from July 26th - August 11th.
France scrum-half Antoine Dupont and former Wallabies captain Michael Hooper are two high profile players who recently announced they have signed up to play sevens.
22 December 2023; Mack Hansen of Connacht after winning a penalty during the United Rugby Championship match between Ulster and Connacht at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
"I'd do it," Connacht and Ireland winger Hansen told The Big Jim Show.
"I'd give it a go, so I can get the [Olympic] rings tattooed on the body somewhere. It's a good conversation starter having the rings on you.
"I never played sevens. Those lads are shredded. I am not shredded at the moment. I have a bit of a pudgy gut at the moment.
"It's the way forward. Seeing such high profile people like Dupont, literally the best player in the world, you could say, going and giving it a crack is going to be monumental for the sevens game.
"I think a lot of people are going to follow suit from here on out. It's cool. How many times do we get opportunities to play in an Olympics? That's just going to grow the game in general. If sevens is booming, then 15s has to follow suit, I find."
11 February 2023; Mack Hansen of Ireland is tackled by Antoine Dupont of France during the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship match between Ireland and France at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
Hansen added that he would be happy to not face Dupont in this year's Six Nations.
"Dupont is just another level," he said.
"He's crazy good. He's a strong little bastard. I know it first hand. He's made me a meme. I see that video pop up every couple of weeks. It's embarrassing to look back on.
"He's got it all. He's strong, fast, smart. People always say, 'Oh, you want to play the best'. I'd happily not have him in the [French] team. I'd rather not play him. It'd be good not having him around."
Asked if he ever felt an urge to leave Connacht to "kick on" in his career, Hansen said that while he's enjoying his rugby, he's happy in the west.
14 October 2023; Ireland players, from left, Joe McCarthy, Rónan Kelleher, Jack Crowley and Mack Hansen after their side's defeat in the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Stade de France in Paris, France. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
"I love Galway, I love everybody around here," he said
"We get great support and everybody is super friendly. You can tell that everybody here genuinely does love Connacht. I love hanging around the lads.
"It would mean a lot more to me to win something here than to go somewhere else and win there. I don't know what the future holds on anything but my goal is to get the job done here.
"You hear stories of when they won the [Pro14], the whole place just shut down for it for a couple of days. I'd love to have a feeling like that and bring a bit of silverware home to Galway."
See Also: Mack Hansen Has Issue With New Zealander Coaching Wallabies
