Gavin Henson: Do we care anymore? [Article]

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

buck65 wrote: »

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

Zzippy wrote: »

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glj0O_EL3o4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzN8Hg7yCkE

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]

buck65 wrote: »

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.

Dempsey

[Jackass] wrote: »

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.

In fairness, you are ignoring his injury problems.

I do agree with alot of your view but i think injuries and and too many of them ruined him. Ya he had the champagne lifestyle but I dunno whether that was a reason, it seems like a convenient coincidence.

Also, nowhere near a George Best type, Lomu would be more like him

[Jackass]

Well the reference was more to the distractions off the field taking away from the performance on it. But granted, injuries have been a big factor too.

Lomu must be the Pele! Most prolific and spectacular attacking player ever and considered THE legend of the game! :P

Dempsey

[Jackass] wrote: »

Well the reference was more to the distractions off the field taking away from the performance on it. But granted, injuries have been a big factor too.

Lomu must be the Pele! Most prolific and spectacular attacking player ever and considered THE legend of the game! :P

Like is the key word. Lomu did alot for rugby in terms of getting people watching just to see what he'd do and how many players he'd go through to get there. No doubt that Lomu is like Pele in terms of impact to the sport. I dont know why you are sarcastic about that

What destroyed one of the greatest and most commercial players, injury. Henson wasnt near the impact Lomu had but his commercial appeal was pushed like no other player, they thought they had the rugby equivalent of Best/Beckham.

Despite the commercial appeal, the chap had serious skills

thomond2006

Well the Henson story has certainly moved on this week. The Ospreys are now willing to hear offers and London Irish have expressed an interest.

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12331_6381984,00.html

Gavin was on a Scrum V Special this week.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/welsh/9007358.stm

irishbucsfan

I never liked him, but I'm impressed by his honesty about it all.

Ospreys should definitely let him go. According to him he wants to go back to Swansea, but he needs some time away. I think thats fair enough.

Robbo

I enjoyed Scott Johnson's little lecture about honouring contracts, looking for leverage. The Breakdown this week pointed out that he honoured 12 months of a 4 year contract in the States before giving his notice.

Digifriendly

Robbo wrote: »

I enjoyed Scott Johnson's little lecture about honouring contracts, looking for leverage. The Breakdown this week pointed out that he honoured 12 months of a 4 year contract in the States before giving his notice.

Wasn't it a former Welsh international who described Scott Johnson when he was in charge of the national side as 'a show pony'?

mathepac

Zzippy wrote: »

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

Well poor auld Gavin does apparently. Precis of BBC interview earlier this week - "Boo Hoo me rich burd left me and took the babbies and kept all the money and houses, boo hoo, meaning I have to do all these reality TV shows to keep myself in fake tan and creatine. Boo hoo some other lad is in there now, boo hoo. It's hard when the ex-burd's new lad is bringing up our kids, boo hoo. How much am I getting for this interview? Oh, grand boyo, that'll be cash then, innit."

thomond2006

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00tnq46/Scrum_V_16_09_2010/

A lot of the Henson interview in audio form here.

He seems an honest guy but christ he has a high opinion of himself.

Nearly wet myself laughing when he said "More or less missed out on the Lions Tour (2009) because of the last injury". He was playing ****e, only Woodward would have picked him for that tour.

anonymous_joe

mathepac wrote: »

Well poor auld Gavin does apparently. Precis of BBC interview earlier this week - "Boo Hoo me rich burd left me and took the babbies and kept all the money and houses, boo hoo, meaning I have to do all these reality TV shows to keep myself in fake tan and creatine. Boo hoo some other lad is in there now, boo hoo. It's hard when the ex-burd's new lad is bringing up our kids, boo hoo. How much am I getting for this interview? Oh, grand boyo, that'll be cash then, innit."

Put like that I actually do sympathise with him.

mfceiling

He wasn't a great player or world class or anything like it.
He played one good game for wales against england - one big kick and one big tackle.
How many international tries did he score in a brilliant welsh backline - with players like peel, jones, byrne and williams in your backs you would expect your centres to have a bagful of tries.
I saw him playing in the flesh a couple of times for wales and to be honest he was poor - he was simply destroyed at landsdowne road - to the point that even the welsh fans beside me were moaning about him getting game time.
He should go away now and not have anything to do with welsh rugby.......when you see the passion someone like gareth thomas has for his national side then compare him to henson......there is no contest.

danthefan

mfceiling wrote: »

He wasn't a great player or world class or anything like it.
He played one good game for wales against england - one big kick and one big tackle.

This is just nonsense.

How many international tries did he score in a brilliant welsh backline - with players like peel, jones, byrne and williams in your backs you would expect your centres to have a bagful of tries.

How is playing inside someone like Shane Williams going to help him scored tries? He's an inside centre, it's not the most prolific position by any means.

I saw him playing in the flesh a couple of times for wales and to be honest he was poor - he was simply destroyed at landsdowne road - to the point that even the welsh fans beside me were moaning about him getting game time.

He was awful in that game alright, but he'd just come back from injury and was thrown in at 10. Difficult situation for anyone. And while he was destroyed in that game, think of Croker in 2008, when he had a fine game and helped Wales on their way to a second grand slam.

He should go away now and not have anything to do with welsh rugby.......when you see the passion someone like gareth thomas has for his national side then compare him to henson......there is no contest.

I don't really see any basis for saying Henson isn't passionate about playing for Wales.

Guy:Incognito

I think people are being very unfair to the guy. Fair enough it's a dream of a huge amont of people and people envy the life of playing a sport professionally. But for a lot of people that get there I'm sure the gloss goes off it quite quickly when the daily grind settles in and other sacrifices have to be made. If he then wants to move away from that I dont think anyone else is in a position to judge. The dream can quickly turn in to a monotonous job for some people and he changed his.Cant see a problem with that. Would people rather he was double jobbing and not giving his all on the pitch but still collecting a wage? At the end of the day it's his job/career and if he thinks a coupe of years away from it is whats needed then so be it. If he does shoose to come back and is a better player for it then it will be worth it.

Not sure if it was meant the way it sounded above but "Beckham syndrome" is a hugely unfair thing to level at David Beckham when using it to compare things like this. Beckham is 35 and showing no signs of giving up playing a sport he could have walked away from years ago a very rich man set for life. He hasnt He has never been away from football and when fit is available to play. I'm sure he could have spent his couple of weeks durng the world cup in plenty of other places considerign he was injured but he spent it with the squad.

anonymous_joe

danthefan wrote: »

This is just nonsense.



How is playing inside someone like Shane Williams going to help him scored tries? He's an inside centre, it's not the most prolific position by any means.



He was awful in that game alright, but he'd just come back from injury and was thrown in at 10. Difficult situation for anyone. And while he was destroyed in that game, think of Croker in 2008, when he had a fine game and helped Wales on their way to a second grand slam.



I don't really see any basis for saying Henson isn't passionate about playing for Wales.

Good post, dude.

Stekelly wrote: »

I think people are being very unfair to the guy. Fair enough it's a dream of a huge amont of people and people envy the life of playing a sport professionally. But for a lot of people that get there I'm sure the gloss goes off it quite quickly when the daily grind settles in and other sacrifices have to be made. If he then wants to move away from that I dont think anyone else is in a position to judge. The dream can quickly turn in to a monotonous job for some people and he changed his.Cant see a problem with that. Would people rather he was double jobbing and not giving his all on the pitch but still collecting a wage? At the end of the day it's his job/career and if he thinks a coupe of years away from it is whats needed then so be it. If he does shoose to come back and is a better player for it then it will be worth it.

Not sure if it was meant the way it sounded above but "Beckham syndrome" is a hugely unfair thing to level at David Beckham when using it to compare things like this. Beckham is 35 and showing no signs of giving up playing a sport he could have walked away from years ago a very rich man set for life. He hasnt He has never been away from football and when fit is available to play. I'm sure he could have spent his couple of weeks durng the world cup in plenty of other places considerign he was injured but he spent it with the squad.

Do you know who I hate? Stephen Ireland. However, I know that it's a bit unfair of me. Because, truthfully, it's not hate, it's annoyance. He annoys the fcuk out of me.

So does Henson. Why?

Gavin Henson at his peak was a playmaker inside-centre, with good passing, good kicking, surprising pace, an eye for a gap and a strong defender. Add to that, he was also a fcuking monster. A strong, powerful guy. Matt Giteau crossed with Ma'a Nonu if you will. He could have been the best Welsh player of a generation that won two Grand Slams.

However, like the Welsh side, he's bloody inconsistent. The Welsh won two Grand Slams in a period when Ireland won only one, but over the last decade Ireland have a much much better record than the Welsh.

Henson was playing for a side, in the Ospreys, who have been an absolute car-crash for most of their existence. Their Magners League win against Leinster still rankles, but what's worse is that they've a side easily the match for Leinster, Munster, or whoever, but unlike the Irish sides, they've done anything of note in Europe, and only last season in the ML. It's not an ideal place to learn discipline.

Throw in a difficult person, as Henson clearly is, and there'll be trouble. There was clearly no way of dealing with him, and so, his talent was wasted. Talent that Wales and the Ospreys could have used sooner. Throw in the bizarre ways his injury was dealt with and overall you've a lad whose very talented, but mentally quite weak off the pitch, never on it.

In essence, Henson was always going to be a bit of a primadonna, the failure is not his alone, rather, it belongs to those who knew what he was like, but failed to properly manage their most valuable asset.

mfceiling

anonymous_joe wrote: »

Good post, dude.


Do you know who I hate? Stephen Ireland. However, I know that it's a bit unfair of me. Because, truthfully, it's not hate, it's annoyance. He annoys the fcuk out of me.

So does Henson. Why?

Gavin Henson at his peak was a playmaker inside-centre, with good passing, good kicking, surprising pace, an eye for a gap and a strong defender. Add to that, he was also a fcuking monster. A strong, powerful guy. Matt Giteau crossed with Ma'a Nonu if you will. He could have been the best Welsh player of a generation that won two Grand Slams.

However, like the Welsh side, he's bloody inconsistent. The Welsh won two Grand Slams in a period when Ireland won only one, but over the last decade Ireland have a much much better record than the Welsh.

Henson was playing for a side, in the Ospreys, who have been an absolute car-crash for most of their existence. Their Magners League win against Leinster still rankles, but what's worse is that they've a side easily the match for Leinster, Munster, or whoever, but unlike the Irish sides, they've done anything of note in Europe, and only last season in the ML. It's not an ideal place to learn discipline.

Throw in a difficult person, as Henson clearly is, and there'll be trouble. There was clearly no way of dealing with him, and so, his talent was wasted. Talent that Wales and the Ospreys could have used sooner. Throw in the bizarre ways his injury was dealt with and overall you've a lad whose very talented, but mentally quite weak off the pitch, never on it.

In essence, Henson was always going to be a bit of a primadonna, the failure is not his alone, rather, it belongs to those who knew what he was like, but failed to properly manage their most valuable asset.

At 6ft and 14-15 stone he was hardly a fcuking monster - jamie roberts certainly fits that bill!!

Again i have to say i don't/didn't rate him - all style and no substance.
I suppose other posters will argue their case but that is my point of view.

He scored no tries in the 6 nations and apart from a couple of big kicks and tackles you couldn't really say he was "world class"

As for the passion for playing for wales....i stand by my earlier comment.
Gareth thomas and shane williams for me epitomise the sheer desire and pride to play for their country......players for who that red jersey means more than any cap, sum of money etc.......henson didn't have that "fire" to wear that jersey no matter what.

Again posters this is just my opinion...don't slate me....it's what keps this forum alive and well!!:D

anonymous_joe

mfceiling wrote: »

At 6ft and 14-15 stone he was hardly a fcuking monster - jamie roberts certainly fits that bill!!

Again i have to say i don't/didn't rate him - all style and no substance.
I suppose other posters will argue their case but that is my point of view.

He scored no tries in the 6 nations and apart from a couple of big kicks and tackles you couldn't really say he was "world class"

As for the passion for playing for wales....i stand by my earlier comment.
Gareth thomas and shane williams for me epitomise the sheer desire and pride to play for their country......players for who that red jersey means more than any cap, sum of money etc.......henson didn't have that "fire" to wear that jersey no matter what.

Again posters this is just my opinion...don't slate me....it's what keps this forum alive and well!!:D

Thought he was a little bit bigger than that. And no 12 scores tries. D'Arcy has about 6 in 60 caps. All style and no substance is basically wheeled out because he has silly hair and likes fake tan. O'Driscoll had silly hair for a large part of his career, as do the entire Australian backline and so on. He rarely missed tackles, he kicked well, and he passed the ball cleverly and carried with strength. In terms of style over substance, can you think of him actually playing in such a way?

Either way, it's bigger than the likes of D'ARcy, Wallace, Giteau, Flood, etc.

mfceiling

anonymous_joe wrote: »

Thought he was a little bit bigger than that. And no 12 scores tries. D'Arcy has about 6 in 60 caps. All style and no substance is basically wheeled out because he has silly hair and likes fake tan. O'Driscoll had silly hair for a large part of his career, as do the entire Australian backline and so on. He rarely missed tackles, he kicked well, and he passed the ball cleverly and carried with strength. In terms of style over substance, can you think of him actually playing in such a way?

Either way, it's bigger than the likes of D'ARcy, Wallace, Giteau, Flood, etc.

Flood is a bigger and heavier player, d'arcy carries more weight, and giteau is head and shoulders above any of those players (henson included).

I can't recall any matches were henson was outstanding or stamped his authority on it.

He is/was a decent tackler but he never made major yards or line breaks - most centres are either line breakers/bash merchants and very quick over 30-40 metres - henson got praise for having speed but i never saw him destroy anyone with genuine pace..........remember bowe tore him to pieces in "that" game in the grand slam year!!

anonymous_joe

mfceiling wrote: »

Flood is a bigger and heavier player, d'arcy carries more weight, and giteau is head and shoulders above any of those players (henson included).

I can't recall any matches were henson was outstanding or stamped his authority on it.

He is/was a decent tackler but he never made major yards or line breaks - most centres are either line breakers/bash merchants and very quick over 30-40 metres - henson got praise for having speed but i never saw him destroy anyone with genuine pace..........remember bowe tore him to pieces in "that" game in the grand slam year!!

You really can't?

The guy was immense on form. He's bigger and heavier than D'Arcy, and he's more effective, stronger and more talented than flood. As for Giteau, he's been shíte all season.

Henson wasn't about genuine speed, he's a 12 ffs. He was fast enough for 12 or 15, where he usually played.

The guy's hugely unpopular, and with good reason, I don't like him either, but he was a very very good player.

Noffles

anonymous_joe wrote: »

You really can't?

The guy was immense on form. He's bigger and heavier than D'Arcy, and he's more effective, stronger and more talented than flood. As for Giteau, he's been shíte all season.

Henson wasn't about genuine speed, he's a 12 ffs. He was fast enough for 12 or 15, where he usually played.

The guy's hugely unpopular, and with good reason, I don't like him either, but he was a very very good player.

Being welsh I "had" a lot of time for him and when he was good he was very good... Sadly as I have now seen him speak a lot more on these entertainment shows that he seems to be all over at the moment, I have come to the conclusion that he is a monumental knob... his arrogance is mind blowing and as smug as f*ck too...
Having seen him say last week that he would like to get fit and playing again and get back in the squad for the RWC I'll eat my hat (it doesn't look tasty either) if he gets in the squad..!
If he'd of stayed on the pitch and shut up we wouldn't be having this discussion... but he didn't!

anonymous_joe

Noffles wrote: »

Being welsh I "had" a lot of time for him and when he was good he was very good... Sadly as I have now seen him speak a lot more on these entertainment shows that he seems to be all over at the moment, I have come to the conclusion that he is a monumental knob... his arrogance is mind blowing and as smug as f*ck too...
Having seen him say last week that he would like to get fit and playing again and get back in the squad for the RWC I'll eat my hat (it doesn't look tasty either) if he gets in the squad..!
If he'd of stayed on the pitch and shut up we wouldn't be having this discussion... but he didn't!

I don't disagree.

But the reason we still talk about him is because he was that good, and if someone could get him fixed again mentally, he'd be a world beater, and who wouldn't want one?

thomond2006

Saracens have confirmed Gavin Henson is one of a number of players they are looking at to bolster their fly-half options.

So far only RFU Championship outfit London Welsh had talked seriously about signing the Wales international, who wants to move to London to be closer to his children.

However Saracens have now official expressed their interest in Henson, who has not played for the Ospreys for 19 months, after Derick Hougaard has ruptured an Achilles tendon.

Hougaard is facing six months on the sidelines, leaving Alex Goode as the only experienced No.10 at Vicarage Road.

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12572_6454902,00.html

bamboozle

thomond2006 wrote: »

Saracens have confirmed Gavin Henson is one of a number of players they are looking at to bolster their fly-half options.

So far only RFU Championship outfit London Welsh had talked seriously about signing the Wales international, who wants to move to London to be closer to his children.

However Saracens have now official expressed their interest in Henson, who has not played for the Ospreys for 19 months, after Derick Hougaard has ruptured an Achilles tendon.

Hougaard is facing six months on the sidelines, leaving Alex Goode as the only experienced No.10 at Vicarage Road.

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12572_6454902,00.html

he'd fit in well in a team of mercenaries..assuming his dancing lessons/ego permit

CIARAN_BOYLE

All well and good but he is contracted with the BBC for a while more and Saracens want to replace an injured player asap not whenever he gets kicked out of Strictly and conditioned himself for Rugby.

thomond2006

In the short term they're ok at 10, Alex Goode can play there as can Wigglesworth.

Bringing in an unknown quantity like Henson is a risk.

durkadurka

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

All well and good but he is contracted with the BBC for a while more and Saracens want to replace an injured player asap not whenever he gets kicked out of Strictly and conditioned himself for Rugby.

I just can't believe we are discussing when he gets booted out of some feckin dancing show as a factor in this.

He should be ashamed of himself.

Junior

I was listening to ROG give an interview on The Last Word this evening and it was mentioned that Henson was down to 11 Stone ? ROG said straight off he'd need to put on about 3 stone of muscle if he want's to play, I can't see that happening over night ?

Robbo

durkadurka wrote: »

I just can't believe we are discussing when he gets booted out of some feckin dancing show as a factor in this.

He should be ashamed of himself.

Have some heart here. According to Popbitch, this is the first year the participants on Dancing on Stars with the Ice are paid per appearance, rather than on a fixed fee. I'd imagine he needs the money for his marina fees and the like.

Regarding O'Gara saying he was down to 11 stone, that could be the result of two things (a) a rubbish researcher taking the first result from Google instant or (b) O'Gara taking the first result from Google instant. Which is kind of amusing given O'Gara's previous experience with internet scuttlebutt...

Junior

It was Matt Cooper that stated his weight, not Rog.

buck65

That might be a fact but surely should not get in the way of having a cut at O Gara;)

anyway found this article re Saracens. Ospreys are furious with the dancing one.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/oct/27/gavin-henson-ospreys-saracens

LeinsterDub

buck65 wrote: »

That might be a fact but surely should not get in the way of having a cut at O Gara;)

anyway found this article re Saracens. Ospreys are furious with the dancing one.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/oct/27/gavin-henson-ospreys-saracens

Can't see why . Would of thought they would be glad to see the back of him.

thomond2006

LeinsterDub wrote: »

Can't see why . Would of thought they would be glad to see the back of him.

It's all about money, the Ospreys feel entitled to a pay off. Tbh they should get one. They were very good to Henson, many clubs would have cast him aside rather than grant him leave (unpaid or not).

thomond2006

Ospreys have reached an agreement with Saracens for the release of Gavin Henson from his current contract, according to SSN.

CatFromHue

i think henson sometimes gets a bit of a hard time, he doesnt help himself either.

he is a pretty good player, not a great player, but pretty good. remember he has been capped at 3 different positions at international level, 10, 12, and 15, so the management do want him on the pitch in some capacity.

before he took his sabbatical he was getting injured over and over. as someone who has a long term injury and is throughly pissed off with physiotherapy i can relate to his predicament. it really is soul destroying when you are nearly back, or think you are nearly back, to find out you have months ahead of you of bloody hard work before you can run again.

he also broke up with his wife which cant have been easy. no matter what we think of him self or his wife it must be a fairly poxy thing to go through.

in relation to him having lost weight and is now 11 stone....who weighed him????

quite a few people, Johnathon Davies off the BBC being one, thought his recurring injurys could be due to having too much muscle that his frame couldnt handle.

if his kids now live in london with their mam and he wants to live close to them fair play to him if you ask me. it is difficult for his club now to lose him but peoples situation change. from the linked article above it points out that it was him who asked not to be payed as he needed a break.

as i said its easy not to like the guy. its still not certain if he will go back to rugby or if he can adapt to how the game has changed (considering its saracens and they like an out half with a big boot this may be a moot point), but welsh rugby will be better to have him playing again.

long term injuries and women will mess with anyones head!!

i just hope he doesnt come over to the rds and play a blinder against leinster!!

Digifriendly

CatFromHue wrote: »

he also broke up with his wife which cant have been easy. no matter what we think of him self or his wife it must be a fairly poxy thing to go through.

He wasn't married which may be a blessing as no messy divorce to go through though I'm pretty sure he was engaged to Charlotte Church. She was interviewed on Fivelive yesterday and spoke about their parting which if yesterday's interview is anything to go by compared to Gavin's on Scrum V seemed to hurt him more than her. BTW I totally agree with your analysis of him as a player.

PhatPiggins

Digifriendly wrote: »

He wasn't married which may be a blessing as no messy divorce to go through though I'm pretty sure he was engaged to Charlotte Church. She was interviewed on Fivelive yesterday and spoke about their parting which if yesterday's interview is anything to go by compared to Gavin's on Scrum V seemed to hurt him more than her. BTW I totally agree with your analysis of him as a player.

You're kidding, he would have cleaned up in the divorce settlement. She makes more in a month then he does in a year.

Sorry a bit OT for a rugby forum

thomond2006

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/9126826.stm

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