Gavin Henson

Gavin Henson

Gavin Henson
Player information
Full name	Gavin Lloyd Henson
birthday	February 1, 1982
place of birth	Bridgend , Wales
Nickname	Gav
society
society	Ospreys
position	Inner three-quarters , connector , goalkeeper
Clubs as active
Years	society	Games (points)
2000-2003	Swansea RFC
2003–	Ospreys	98 (788)
National team
Years	National team	Games (points)
2000–	Wales	33 (130)
2005	British and Irish Lions	1 (0)
Status: March 28, 2009 National team: October 12, 2011

Gavin Henson (born February 1, 1982 in Bridgend ) is a Welsh rugby union player who plays for the Ospreys in the Magners League and for the Welsh national team. He was part of the team that won the Six Nations Grand Slam in 2005 and 2008 . Henson can play in the inner three-quarters , connector and goalkeeper positions.

Career

2000-2004

Henson began rugby in high school and joined his first professional club, the Swansea RFC , when he was 18 . After his first season he was voted the best young player of the year by the world association IRB . In June 2001 he made his debut for the Welsh national team in an international match against Japan , in which he was substituted on. Against Romania in September of the same year he played for Wales for the first time from the start. In November he made his first attempt in the national team jersey.

In 2003 the previously known league structure in Wales was broken up in order to found regional teams that should have more chances in international comparison. Henson's club Swansea merged with the Neath RFC and operated as Ospreys from then on. He first appeared for the newly formed team in September when they met Ulster . He scored two attempts and a total of 15 points. In the following game against Newport he got 14 points on the connector position. That year he also played two more internationals for Wales. Henson achieved the status of an international top player in 2004 when he continued to attract attention with excellent performances in the national team's friendly matches against New Zealand and South Africa . He switched between the inner three-quarters and final positions.

2005

At the Six Nations 2005 he was also part of the Welsh squad. In the first tournament game against England he caused a sensation when he scored the decisive points for his team to win 11: 9 with a penalty kick from over 40 meters. Before that, he had dominated his opponents throughout the game. After disappointing years at the Six Nations, the Welsh supporters hoped for a turnaround and a successful performance at this traditional tournament. The team was able to meet the expectations of the fans after the victory over England and secured the Grand Slam at the end of the tournament.

In the same year he succeeded with the Ospreys the title in the Celtic League by a 29:12 win in the final against Edinburgh . Henson scored 24 points alone and was one of the key players in the team's success throughout the season. The year went on very positively at first, because he was nominated for the tour of the British and Irish Lions . Despite the promise that he would be in the first game of the Lions, coach Clive Woodward Henson sat on the bench and only let him appear in the second game, in which he was injured and thus missed the end of the tour. Henson showed little understanding for Woodward's decision, whose team leadership was also extremely controversial in public. In October he published a book called “My Grand Slam Year” which dealt with events from that season. He later publicly apologized for some of the comments made to fellow players.

2006 - today

Following the unsuccessful Lions tour, he suffered a groin injury that prevented him from doing his sport until the end of the year. He did not return until December. During a game against the Leicester Tigers , he hit an opponent with the elbow and was initially suspended for ten weeks. However, after further negotiations, the ban was reduced to seven weeks. After only one club game after his forced break, he was used in the game of the Welsh against Ireland in the Six Nations 2006 and showed a poor performance. The game was lost 31: 5. At the end of the tournament, Wales remained only fifth after beating Scotland and drawing a home draw with Italy .

Henson was not nominated for the squad for the 2007 World Cup after mediocre performance and a protracted injury . In public, he was repeatedly criticized for concentrating too much on his image and appearance and neglecting his sport. Due to the disappointing performance of the Welsh at the World Cup, coach Gareth Jenkins was sacked after the tournament and Henson returned to the national team. At the Six Nations 2008 he was on the field in all games and showed consistently good performances. At the end of the tournament he and his team celebrated winning the Grand Slam again. He has not lost a single game in the Six Nations in his career in which he was in the starting lineup. As in 2005, the victory at the six-nation tournament was followed by winning a title with the Ospreys. This time the team secured the EDF Energy Cup with a 23-6 win over Leicester.

Private life

Henson lives with the Welsh singer Charlotte Church . The two have a daughter named Ruby Megan and a son. Because of their notoriety and Henson's extravagant appearance on and off the field, the couple has already been compared to David and Victoria Beckham . He is in great demand as an advertising character and has advertised Nike , among other things .

swell

1. ^ Past Winners. IRB, archived from the original on June 3, 2008 ; accessed on March 22, 2009 (English). 
2. ↑ Paul Ackford: Henson kick-starts Wales celebrations. Daily Telegraph, February 14, 2005, accessed March 22, 2009 . 
3. ^ Ospreys 29-12 Edinburgh. BBC, March 26, 2005, accessed March 22, 2009 . 
4. ↑ JPR Williams : Gavin Henson interview. The Guardian, November 6, 2005, accessed March 22, 2009 . 
5. ^ Henson says sorry to Wales colleagues. RTÉ Sport, November 7, 2005, accessed on March 22, 2009 . 
6. ↑ Chris Hewett: Henson left 'suicidal' by débâcle in Dublin. The Independent, February 28, 2006, accessed March 22, 2009 . 
7. ^ Singer Charlotte Church named baby girl Ruby. Daily Telegraph, September 26, 2007, accessed March 22, 2009 . 
8. ↑ Charlotte Church has a baby boy. BBC, January 11, 2009, accessed March 22, 2009 . 
9. ↑ Charlotte Church's lingerie deal. Female First, accessed March 22, 2009 . 

Web links

• Profile at the Welsh Rugby Union
• Profile at the Ospreys ( Memento from August 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive )