Connacht 'never get any calls, ever' - Hansen

Connacht conceded 15 penalties in their defeat by Leinster - one fewer than the hosts

Connacht wing Mack Hansen said the refereeing of his side's United Rugby Championship loss to Leinster in the Aviva Stadium made it feel like they were playing against "16 men".

The visitors were beaten 20-12 on Saturday in a game in which Leinster were shown a pair of yellow cards in the second half and were penalised 16 times compared to 15 for Connacht.

"To be honest, it felt like we were getting reffed out of the game for the first 40 minutes, pretty much," said the Ireland international.

"Then, we were able to do our thing. We were able to show the exciting rugby that we play.

"We're not a team for excuses, but that's what I feel. I feel like the first bit we were getting pressured from what seemed like 16 men against us instead of 15, to be honest."

Hansen's head coach Pete Wilkins was asked if he agreed with his player's assertion before the 26-year-old interjected to add: "Can I say something real quick about the situation?

"Like, I feel like we get this every week. We never get any calls, ever. I've been feeling this for years now."

'It's starting to get really frustrating'

Referee Chris Busby showed three yellow cards in the game, two for Leinster and one for Connacht

Hansen took exception to a lengthy Television Match Official [TMO] check when Connacht fly-half Josh Ioane tackled Leinster hooker Gus McCarthy, with the officiating team ultimately deciding to just award a penalty.

In contrast, he felt, there was not the same scrutiny when Bundee Aki was hit by Jordie Barrett at a ruck.

The Irish Rugby Football Union [IRFU] provided the officiating team for the interprovincial derby, which drew a crowd of 33,963 in Dublin. Chris Busby was the referee, assisted by Peter Martin and Stuart Gaffikin with Mark Patton the TMO.

"You can't possibly tell me yourselves sitting there, like checking the Gus McCarthy one, how much? How much did they check that, 10, 11 times?" added Hansen.

"Bundee gets a direct hit to the head, it's quite obvious, no call, doesn't care.

"It's like we get that every time... and it's starting to get really frustrating for us because people will say we are an inconsistent team but when you are getting some of the calls we're getting, of course, you are going to be.

"I'm not making excuses by any means but, when you just get it week after week, I feel it's got to be spoken about... we just feel we're getting played out of games and we never ever get any calls."