Ireland wing Mack Hansen is set to face the Springboks in Dublin on 21 November with “a brand new foot”.
The 28-year-old Australian recently returned to pre-season action for Connacht following a lengthy battle with a foot injury that ultimately required surgery and forced him to learn how to walk and run again.
Hansen initially suffered the injury during the British & Irish Lions’ 2025 tour match against the AUNZ Invitational XV, ruling him out of the Test series against the Wallabies.
After scans suggested the ligament damage was not serious, he twice attempted to return to action, only for the problem to recur.
The third setback came against the Springboks last November and brought his 2025-26 season to a premature end, with London orthopaedic surgeon James Calder recommending surgery.
“When the foot went for a third time, we sent the scans off to James in London,” Hansen told The Times. “I’d done a few ligaments, but he saw that a couple of joints in there were out of whack [position] and thought it was likely to keep happening unless we went for surgery.
“I had a bone fusion and I’ve now got six screws and a metal plate in there. It’s basically a bionic foot, I’m hoping it might add a few metres to my kicking game.
“Having said that, I’ve got some metal in my shoulder and that doesn’t seem to have made my tackling any better.”
The operation was followed by a lengthy rehabilitation programme, with Hansen having to relearn some of the most basic movements before eventually returning to rugby.
“Essentially, it’s a brand new foot, so everything felt different. Walking was the weirdest bit, I just hadn’t done it for so long, and then it was getting back to the normality of running,” he said.
“I did have to learn to run a slightly different way. Nothing drastic, but it is different.”
If Hansen’s comeback continues as planned, he could feature during the northern leg of Ireland’s Nations Championship campaign, when they host Argentina (6 November), Fiji (14 November) and the Springboks (21 November).
Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
The post Mack’s ‘bionic foot’ ready for Boks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Ireland wing Mack Hansen is set to face the Springboks in Dublin on 21 November with “a brand new foot”.
The post Mack’s ‘bionic foot’ ready for Boks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
