Pete Wilkins expecting 'fair hearing' for Mack Hansen and reacts to Mark Sexton exit news
Mack Hansen's URC disciplinary hearing will take place on Wednesday with Connacht and Ireland fans fearing a ban for the talented winger
Pete Wilkins says he doesn't believe it was Mack Hansen's intention to spark the conversation that has happened about Connacht and referees in the public domain.
Connacht and Ireland winger Hansen is up in front of a URC disciplinary hearing tomorrow for comments he made about match officials in the wake of the westerners' loss to Leinster before Christmas.
The 26-year-old could be facing a fine and/or a ban for an outburst that made a lot of headlines - and with the Six Nations only three weeks away.
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Speaking today ahead of Connacht's Challenge Cup clash with Lyon on Friday, Wilkins stressed that he was unaware that Hansen was going to unleash at the post-match press conference at the Aviva Stadium.
"No, it was a normal press conference, walking into it I had come straight from a RTE radio interview and had no awareness that was on the cards," he said. "But the hearing is tomorrow and so it would be great to put things to bed after that.
"I think one of the values of rugby has been the respect for referees, obviously in the professional era it becomes more complicated but it's hard for me to say."
Wilkins added that he hopes the controversy can be put to bed tomorrow, "hopefully after a fair hearing". He said: "With the hearing tomorrow, I want to make sure I don't say anything that's going to swing anything either way.
"So look, if there's been a conversation started in the public or the media, so be it, I don't think that was Mack's intentions. But look, we'll just see how tomorrow goes and hopefully after a fair hearing we'll take it from there."
Meanwhile, Wilkins was quizzed rumours linking more than attack coach Mark Sexton with a move from his backroom team at the end of the season.
Sexton, who is a brother of former Leinster and Ireland captain Johnny Sexton, has been linked with a move to Ulster and his departure was confirmed today.
Scrum coach Collie Tucker has been linked with a return to Munster, but Wilkins said: "No, I'm not aware of anyone else going. There's always rumours around coaches and players, that's part of the excitement around professional sport. But there's nothing I'm aware of and hiding or nothing to report officially, I can assure you of that."
Asked if he felt Sexton's decision was down to him losing faith in the Connacht programme, Wilkins responded: "I'd certainly hope not. It's professional sport, unfortunately coaches do move on from time to time.
"Mark's had four years here, he started with the academy with that development officer job and did a terrific job, did well enough that I was keen to bring him up into the pro set-up.
"He's done a really good job since then, taking on more responsibility this year around the backs and the attack, I've been really pleased with him and enjoyed working with him and, for me, we've got a good relationship.
"It's a shame that he wants to move on but that's people's stage of life, that's professional sport and it's one of those things that we'll look to fill that role and tweak the coaching group moving into next year."
Wilkins did concede that it was frustrating to lose another coach, however. ""We'll have to see where he ends up, I suppose. That part of it, and maybe that's to come over the next week or two," he said.
"I know it's a cliche, but it is a bit of the cycle that you see in a lot of professional teams at the moment. Most coaches, most assistant coaches, anyway, are on those two year contracts. So there's a constant rollover. And obviously, if someone's doing a good job, you'd love to keep them, and and when they're a good fit for the club.
"If they choose to go elsewhere or if they get offered an opportunity elsewhere, it's one of those things you have to deal with and you have to make sure they realize how highly they're valued and that they believe in where you're trying to head as a program.
"And after that, it's very much up to them on a personal decision. So, it can be frustrating. I think whether it's players or coaches, you don't want to be rebuilding too often. But I think we've got enough talent and we've got enough hard work in that coach's office that there is stability there."
The Connacht supremo said that Sexton's exit will lead to a tweaking of the backroom team rather than a restructuring, and so it wasn't a case of panic stations.
He is also hopeful of being able to quickly announce a replacement. "It's been gobbling away for a few weeks here. To be honest, there's generally a lot of discussions behind the scenes before an announcement is made," said Wilkins. "So we've had time to talk through the situation, talk through different scenarios.
"In terms of a replacement for Mark, we're at the stage of compiling our initial list of people that we might like to speak to, or indeed who might want to speak to us.
"You know what the rugby grapevine is like, news tends to get out pretty quickly so it doesn't take long before you've got either agents or other coaches reaching out to say that they might be interested in the role.
"And I think that's important for us to take some degree of satisfaction from, that a role at Connacht is seen as very appealing. And it's somewhere that people do want to reach out proactively and see if they can they put their hats in the ring.
"So we haven't spoken to anyone directly yet but we're certainly at the stage where there is initial contacts and seeing who we might want to follow-up on."
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