A relaxed Ryan Lonergan fired off a couple of drive-bys on his brother Lachie and old mate Mack Hansen, and suggested he’d organised some divine intervention ahead of leading the Brumbies out against the British and Irish Lions in Canberra on Wednesday night.
The scrumhalf was sitting with his brother in the crowd when the Brumbies beat the Lions in 2013 – “pretty sure he was eating a pie,” said Ryan – while Hansen, the former Brumby turned Irish international, was also there to witness the upset.
Ryan Lonergan and Hansen played a lot of footy against each other growing up and have been friends since they were 12, although they haven’t seen each other since Hansen packed up to chase a dream overseas.
“It will be special to be able to go up against Mack. I’m sure he’ll be talking heaps of shit as he always does,” Lonergan laughed.
“I remember talking to him when he was thinking about leaving, and he was just chasing opportunity. We had a pretty set back three here at the time, and he just took a stab and went overseas and we’re all happy for him.
“As a good friend, you want to see him go and make the most of his opportunity and he’s done that, still being a character. So, super happy for him.”
Hansen played 21 times for the Brumbies before heading overseas and is considered the one who got away by many Australian rugby fans.
British and Irish Lions’ Mack Hansen. (Photo by Robbie Stephenson/PA Images via Getty Images)
“It’s going to be interesting,” Hansen said of returning to his roots on Wednesday.
“I don’t know how I’m going to feel until I’m out on the field, and it won’t be until after that I can take it all in.
“I’m not too sure to be honest with you. But it’s going to be a great moment for myself and my family … and playing against my friends, it’s going to be cool.
“It’s incredible … a pinch-me moment. Not in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be back here playing for the Lions, so it’s incredible.”
As Lonergan prepares to welcome back one old mate, he’ll be saying farewell, for now at least, to a few more, including sometime halves partner Jack Debreczeni.
Ryan Lonergan. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
“He’s just a great rugby brain,” Lonergan said of the 32-year-old Debreczeni.
“If I could transport him back to a 25-year-old body I would in a heartbeat because I enjoy playing with Debs so much. He’s one of my favourite players to play with.
“He gives the boys so much confidence – he’s just a bit of a wizard waving the wand around when he’s out there. It’s going to be a special night for him.”
And what of the Brumbies chances against a near-Test strength team, after the Waratahs caused the tourists some difficulties on Saturday?
“They (the Waratahs) worked really hard at the breakdown. They made a mess of it there,” said Lonergan. “If you can do that and disrupt their game a bit, I think it goes a long way to putting yourself in the fight.
“That’s a blueprint for a lot of games of rugby. So we’ll be trying to disrupt that as much as we can and then just stick to our systems that we’ve been playing throughout Super Rugby.”
The Lions were taken aback by the competitiveness of the Tahs, and coach Andy Farrell accused the locals of of watering the Allianz Stadium to make handling more difficult.
Lonergan was ‘jokingly asked by an Irish journalist to confirm there has been no watering of the GIO Stadium pitch by the Brumbies crew.
“No!,” laughed Lonergan. “I’ve organised these clouds. Hopefully they’ll drop a bit of rain.”
