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John Jones

Six Nations star gets huge tattoo of Andy Farrell as he honours Grand Slam bet

Ireland star Mack Hansen has honoured a bet he made ahead of this year's Six Nations by getting a tattoo of Andy Farrell on his leg.

The wing showed off his latest intriguing inkwork after promising his team-mates he would get the Ireland coach's face immortalised on his body forever if they won the Grand Slam, a feat which they achieved with relative ease thanks to dominant displays throughout the championship.

After completing the clean sweep of victories with a 29-16 win over England, Hansen said he was a "man of his word" and would be getting the tattoo done after being reminded of his vow by captain Johnny Sexton.

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"It started off as a bit of a joke," he told Sports Joe. "Like a passing comment that if we won a Grand Slam, I'd get Faz's face put on me somewhere. I was like, 'Yeah, yeah, right' or whatever. And then, like nine weeks later, Johnny Sexton brought it up and remembered. So he put it to me and I guess, as a man of my word, I'll have to get that as well."

The 25-year-old has now followed through on his promise and shared the evidence with former Scotland international Jim Hamilton, with the lock confirming he had "done the deed" and showing off the portrait of a grinning Farrell on the Irishman's leg.

Sharing an image of the tattoo on Twitter, Hamilton said: "Just spoke with Mack Hansen. He has done the deed. A tattoo of Andy Farrell. I asked him for proof. I’m am now sharing that proof."

While many fans congratulated Hansen on sticking to his word, others have been taken aback by his latest ink, with some describing it as "demonic" and "stupid".

"What the hell is that supposed to be?" asked one, while another claimed it was "scarier than the real thing". A third added: "I'm sure it was a good idea at the time... but that is brutal".

But those who were more supportive of the tat said Hansen was a "legend" for the "unreal" effort. "We need more characters in rugby," wrote one fan. "Mack Hansen definitely is one!"

However, many people weren't convinced by the likeness of Farrell, with even those who were left in stitches by the inking questioning whether it looked more like someone else.

"That's Michael Cheika," suggested one fan, while another wrote: "That's Scott Quinnell!" A third asked: "Isn't that Mike Tindall?" while someone else added: "Looks more like Joe Marler".

There were even suggestions from outside rugby, with one person claiming the tat "looks more like Jack Nicholson out of The Shining". Peter Kay's character in Phoenix Nights was also put forward, while another fan wrote: "Ask for Andy Farrell, get Chris Moyles."

The portrait of Farrell is not the first unusual ink that Hansen has got, however, with the Connacht star also getting a tattoo of team-mate Oisin Dowling not long after joining the club in 2021, a move which left Ireland legend Brian O'Driscoll in stitches.

Dowling isn't the only team-mate permanently immortalised on the wing's body either, with Hansen admitting that his partner was not best impressed with his zany tattoos.

"Oisin Dowling on my leg is pretty grim," he admitted on The Rugby Pod earlier this year. "My missus was pretty spewing about that, especially because I don't have a tattoo of her. When I got an actual face of just one of my mates she wasn't very happy with that.

"I've also got recently, Peter Dooley, his dad's name is Gerry and I call him Gerry all the time, so I got "Gerry Dooley" on my leg in nice running writing. That's pretty horrendous. That's one that I'll probably look back on in a few years and think 'ah, f**k, what was I thinking?'"

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