[ScrubsfanChris]

Have a read of this:

Gavin Henson is unlikely to play any part in the Ospreys' 2010/11 Heineken Cup campaign following the announcement that the Welsh centre is to star on BBC reality TV show Strictly Come Dancing. Henson has been on unpaid leave for the past 18 months and has not played for the region since March 2009. Earlier this week, the 28-year-old said that he had targeted a place in the Wales squad for the 2011 World Cup.
However, Henson's TV commitments are likely to run into the New Year, diminishing his international aspirations and ruling him out of the Heineken Cup pool stages.
The Ospreys have come undone at the quarter-final stage of Europe's premier competition for the last three years but Wales international Jonathan Thomas believes the self-exiled Henson is not being missed at the Liberty Stadium.
"It doesn't affect us whatsoever and we are moving on nicely as a squad," said Thomas.
"We don't regard Gavin as a player here at the moment because he hasn't been here for so long. I have no idea what he is thinking but it's been quite a number of months now since he has been with us.
"Unfortunately, the way rugby is now the game moves on pretty quickly. Things move on and new players come in and that's just the way it is. It's a harsh world but we will just have to wait and see what happens."
Henson has been unveiled as the figurehead of the international advertising campaign for the new Wales kit, with his image set to be plastered over buildings, on television sets and in newspapers over the coming weeks.
Henson made no attempt to hide his pride in being back in a Wales shirt but, for now at least, he looks set to make do with modelling the new kit rather than wearing it in an international.
"When the Welsh Rugby Union asked me to be one of the first to put on the new kit to help with their marketing campaign I had no hesitation," added Henson.
"As a passionate Welshman I have always felt a great sense of pride whenever I have had the privilege of being able to wear the national jersey and this occasion was no different."

Source: http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/5019_16265.php

[PhatPiggins]

More importantly does anyone care about him anymore

[durkadurka]

I have zero respect for this guy.


Shame on the welsh for using him to model the shirt.

[thomond2006]

haha the WRU are very clever in using him to model the shirt.

This creates big publicity/controversy which will undoubtedly sell more jerseys.

A lot of unrest among the Welsh players though, the below is quoted from the Beeb:

His Wales centre partner Jamie Roberts, the Lions' man-of-the-series in South Africa, questioned on his Twitter page: "Is this an insult to current Welsh international players... wonder what the Welsh public will think?!"

Roberts has since deleted his Twitter post and stated: "Just to note, I asked a question, rather than making a statement on the matter.

"Just to see the response...some interesting feedback

I'm sure that's the general mindset of the Welsh players.

[[Jackass]]

Absolutely bizzare that the Welsh rugby union would ask him to "model" the new Welsh jersey. I have no doubt that he was elated by this more as a nice achivement to list by his entertainment agent than as a rugby or Welsh man...

The guy is clearly choosing a life away from the sport...I just don't understand why the sport wont let him go....

[Amazotheamazing]

He was crucial in two Welsh Grand Slams, something the welsh are obsessed about.

[toomevara]

Hate giving this guy the oxygen of publicity, but he's (allegedly) signed for wasps and will apparently join them after his stint on Strictly comes to an end...no doubt wants a london team so he can be as close to all the celebrity bull he loves so much.but like many folk I could care less...cant see him delivering much where it matters...

[buck65]

Hard to see this guy making the RWC squad, even if he was back the unrest it would cause would surely cancel out any pros. Missing so much rugby (it will be almost 2 years if he returns in the new year) at his peak will be detrimental to ever playing at top level again.
Promising player in 2005 but in my eyes never worked on his game since and reputation/myth carried him to his star profile. This guy will be forgotten about in a few years - pity but the Welsh players won't be too bothered. Jedward of the rugby world.

[bamboozle]

The guys is a grade 1 tool. No respect for him whatsoever. dont ever see him making the effort to come back to professional rugby. i just hope we are not going to see him as a pundit on sky or bbc.

[Zzippy]

Thread title should be "Gavin Henson: Does anyone care anymore?"

[thomond2006]

Originally Posted by buck65

Hard to see this guy making the RWC squad, even if he was back the unrest it would cause would surely cancel out any pros.

+1

[ScrubsfanChris]

Originally Posted by Zzippy

Thread title should be "Gavin Henson: Does anyone care anymore?"

There was plenty of titles I could have come up with, I went for the non-offensive one

[anonymous_joe]

The guy remains one of the best players of recent years.

His conduct's just depressing. The guy's clearly not the brighest penny in the jar.

Some of the recent comments regarding him from his putative team mates are intriguing. Shane Williams seemed affectionate, but the likes of Roberts were quite hostile towards him. He's pissed away a lot of talent, for very little.

Feel sorry for the Ospreys really.

[Dempsey]

Never the smartest guy but was undoubtedly a world class talent cut short by injury and I use that term very sparingly when I describe players.

His breakthrough game against England will live long in the memory even if his career wont.





Watch both tackles

Maybe his mentality is gone because of the injuries and maybe he doesnt have a choice because of the injuries but I think he's finished as a European club level and international player. Pity.

[[Jackass]]

Originally Posted by buck65

Hard to see this guy making the RWC squad, even if he was back the unrest it would cause would surely cancel out any pros. Missing so much rugby (it will be almost 2 years if he returns in the new year) at his peak will be detrimental to ever playing at top level again.
Promising player in 2005 but in my eyes never worked on his game since and reputation/myth carried him to his star profile. This guy will be forgotten about in a few years - pity but the Welsh players won't be too bothered. Jedward of the rugby world.

Ah Henson is a modern day George Best in my opinion.

Except, when back in the 60's and 70's long hair and a beard was trendy and the cool thing to do was falling out of bars instead of falling off the shelves on magazine covers, but the idea is the same.

I think Henson was a fantastic player when rugby was his passion. But he always always had an eye for the party life and the celebrity lifestyle.

The celebrity girlfriend, they high profile parties, and probably most relevant, the far more lucrative life style, he got into David Beckham syndrome, where he was making more money off the pitch than he was on it.

So he followed the glamour life and the big bucks. Especially in Wales, where he was a god at his peak, and to some extent still is, he kind of got to Brian O'Driscoll celebrity, but where he took the glam path, O'Driscoll always had rugby as his priority. After all, there's plenty of time for that when you retire, and O'Driscoll is a shoe in to be drafted straight into the sky sports analysis box as soon as he retires, which in many ways is a shame to Leinster and Irish rugby, but you always have to respect what these guys do.

I don't understand why people feel hostile towards Henson. He was given choices, do you want to be a male model and get paid to party and make money off your image...or do you want to make half that money training 5 times a week and travelling all over Europe every other weekend and be away from your friends and family....

And obviously his love for rugby just wasn't enough to keep him focussed on that and he chose what's probably a much more easy life and lucrative one for him...he's only human and whilst most wont agree with his decision, whatever, it's what he wants to do, so I think he should just be forgotton about and move on.

The main difference between him and Best though (who retired at 27 iirc) was that Henson never showed the full extent of what he was capable of, which was one of the most talented players of his generation.