GAVIN HENSON’S proposed return to rugby looks more unrealistic than ever after reports he has agreed to be a contestant in the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing show.
The 28-year-old’s seemingly imminent tie-up to yet another reality TV project would wipe out claims from Ospreys managing director Mike Cuddy that Henson will definitely return to the game before the end of the year.
Henson, along with the likes of former MP Anne Widdecombe and actresses Felicity Kendal and Patsy Kensit, who have also accepted invitations to take part, will have to commit himself to the BBC programme from the autumn through to Christmas, meaning any serious resurrection of his rugby career between now and 2011 is out of the question.
The logical assumption is also that Henson will not now be available for next year’s World Cup, with Wales coach Warren Gatland having stipulated that the player would need to be fit and firing for the Six Nations to be in with a shout of going to New Zealand.
So it seems that with the big global showcase just around the corner Gatland isn’t going to get his man, Bruce Forsyth is.
Last night, the Ospreys wouldn’t comment further on the matter, but it’s understood the playing and coaching side of the region have now become completely indifferent to the saga surrounding Henson.
Furthermore, it remains to be seen how squad members currently slogging their guts out in pre-season training would receive him back if he were to pitch up out of the blue.
There is certainly no frustration, exasperation or anger among the coaching staff, none of whom anticipate for a moment Henson returning.
As it turned out, the news of the former Wales and Lions centre’s latest foray into the world of showbiz was greeted with a mixture of disinterest and amusement at the Ospreys’ Llandarcy headquarters yesterday morning.
Whether it went down in similar fashion with Cuddy is unclear.
He could not be contacted yesterday, but having become Henson’s unofficial spokesman ever since he embarked on his extended sabbatical over a year ago, the Ospreys benefactor has repeatedly defended the player’s absence, insisting he will return when the time is right.
In July 2009, three months after Henson last played for the Liberty Stadium side in their Anglo-Welsh Cup semi-final defeat to Gloucester, Cuddy said: “It’s been very difficult for Gavin having to deal with various rumours about his retirement at a time when he is trying to recover from injury and get match fit.
“Gavin has played a significant part in the success of the Ospreys to date, and we’re looking forward to seeing him perform on the pitch again next season.â€
Yet, by the turn of the year, there was still no sign of Henson, fuelling speculation that his lay-off reflected a deeper disillusionment with the game than anyone had first imagined.
However, Cuddy still stuck to his guns, telling in January of a planned meeting after the Heineken Cup group stages had concluded, presumably aimed at establishing a plan for Henson to don his boots again.
“A lot of things have been said about Gavin and most of them are nonsense,†Cuddy declared back then.
“I am in regular contact with him and the two of us will sit down in early February, once the Heineken Cup qualification games are out of the way.
“It has been frustrating reading some of the things that have been said.
“One day he was a great player, the next he was being written off.â€
He added: “He is no different to any other rugby player. That is how I have treated him. We will have a chat and see what comes of it.â€
But if that February meeting did take place, it bore little fruit in terms of the playing rebirth of one of the most talented Welsh players of the modern era.
By the last few weeks of the season, Henson was still out of commission rugby-wise, instead becoming an increasing presence on the celebrity circuit, signing up for the reality TV show 71 Degrees North.
Cuddy though, still wouldn’t entertain suggestions the player wasn’t planning an imminent return.
In April this year, Cuddy put a timeframe on the situation for the first time by stating: “He has told me he will be back next season and playing before the end of the year.
“Gavin has been honest with me all along. All the injuries, especially the prolonged ones over his groin and achilles tendon, got him down.
“He took a break and now he is feeling all the better for it.â€
Well, that return “before the end of the year†simply isn’t feasible anymore.
Instead, Henson has since taken part in Gavin Henson: Human Guinea Pig for the Bravo Channel, and now he’s being talked of as a coup signing for Strictly Come Dancing, following in the footsteps of boxer Joe Calzaghe, who exited last year’s show early on after never looking comfortable.
Of course Henson isn’t the first rugby player to take to the dance floor in front of the cameras before offering his efforts up to the scrutiny of an acid-tongued judging panel chaired by the formidable Len Goodman.
Matt Dawson was runner-up in 2006, and his former England team-mate Austin Healey also took part in 2008, narrowly missing out on a place in the semi-finals.
Kenny Logan featured in the 2007 series, while league legend Martin Offiah was a contestant in the first show in 2004.
Who knows, Henson may yet trump them all and go on to win it.
But whatever happens, it looks more likely than ever now that we’ve seen his last waltz on a rugby field.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/rugbyn...-end-of-gavin-henson-s-career-91466-26862707/
The 28-year-old’s seemingly imminent tie-up to yet another reality TV project would wipe out claims from Ospreys managing director Mike Cuddy that Henson will definitely return to the game before the end of the year.
Henson, along with the likes of former MP Anne Widdecombe and actresses Felicity Kendal and Patsy Kensit, who have also accepted invitations to take part, will have to commit himself to the BBC programme from the autumn through to Christmas, meaning any serious resurrection of his rugby career between now and 2011 is out of the question.
The logical assumption is also that Henson will not now be available for next year’s World Cup, with Wales coach Warren Gatland having stipulated that the player would need to be fit and firing for the Six Nations to be in with a shout of going to New Zealand.
So it seems that with the big global showcase just around the corner Gatland isn’t going to get his man, Bruce Forsyth is.
Last night, the Ospreys wouldn’t comment further on the matter, but it’s understood the playing and coaching side of the region have now become completely indifferent to the saga surrounding Henson.
Furthermore, it remains to be seen how squad members currently slogging their guts out in pre-season training would receive him back if he were to pitch up out of the blue.
There is certainly no frustration, exasperation or anger among the coaching staff, none of whom anticipate for a moment Henson returning.
As it turned out, the news of the former Wales and Lions centre’s latest foray into the world of showbiz was greeted with a mixture of disinterest and amusement at the Ospreys’ Llandarcy headquarters yesterday morning.
Whether it went down in similar fashion with Cuddy is unclear.
He could not be contacted yesterday, but having become Henson’s unofficial spokesman ever since he embarked on his extended sabbatical over a year ago, the Ospreys benefactor has repeatedly defended the player’s absence, insisting he will return when the time is right.
In July 2009, three months after Henson last played for the Liberty Stadium side in their Anglo-Welsh Cup semi-final defeat to Gloucester, Cuddy said: “It’s been very difficult for Gavin having to deal with various rumours about his retirement at a time when he is trying to recover from injury and get match fit.
“Gavin has played a significant part in the success of the Ospreys to date, and we’re looking forward to seeing him perform on the pitch again next season.â€
Yet, by the turn of the year, there was still no sign of Henson, fuelling speculation that his lay-off reflected a deeper disillusionment with the game than anyone had first imagined.
However, Cuddy still stuck to his guns, telling in January of a planned meeting after the Heineken Cup group stages had concluded, presumably aimed at establishing a plan for Henson to don his boots again.
“A lot of things have been said about Gavin and most of them are nonsense,†Cuddy declared back then.
“I am in regular contact with him and the two of us will sit down in early February, once the Heineken Cup qualification games are out of the way.
“It has been frustrating reading some of the things that have been said.
“One day he was a great player, the next he was being written off.â€
He added: “He is no different to any other rugby player. That is how I have treated him. We will have a chat and see what comes of it.â€
But if that February meeting did take place, it bore little fruit in terms of the playing rebirth of one of the most talented Welsh players of the modern era.
By the last few weeks of the season, Henson was still out of commission rugby-wise, instead becoming an increasing presence on the celebrity circuit, signing up for the reality TV show 71 Degrees North.
Cuddy though, still wouldn’t entertain suggestions the player wasn’t planning an imminent return.
In April this year, Cuddy put a timeframe on the situation for the first time by stating: “He has told me he will be back next season and playing before the end of the year.
“Gavin has been honest with me all along. All the injuries, especially the prolonged ones over his groin and achilles tendon, got him down.
“He took a break and now he is feeling all the better for it.â€
Well, that return “before the end of the year†simply isn’t feasible anymore.
Instead, Henson has since taken part in Gavin Henson: Human Guinea Pig for the Bravo Channel, and now he’s being talked of as a coup signing for Strictly Come Dancing, following in the footsteps of boxer Joe Calzaghe, who exited last year’s show early on after never looking comfortable.
Of course Henson isn’t the first rugby player to take to the dance floor in front of the cameras before offering his efforts up to the scrutiny of an acid-tongued judging panel chaired by the formidable Len Goodman.
Matt Dawson was runner-up in 2006, and his former England team-mate Austin Healey also took part in 2008, narrowly missing out on a place in the semi-finals.
Kenny Logan featured in the 2007 series, while league legend Martin Offiah was a contestant in the first show in 2004.
Who knows, Henson may yet trump them all and go on to win it.
But whatever happens, it looks more likely than ever now that we’ve seen his last waltz on a rugby field.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/rugbyn...-end-of-gavin-henson-s-career-91466-26862707/
