Maverick quietly returns to the fold

RUGBY/Wales welcome back Henson: Paul Rees reports on how with all the furore in the Wales camp, the return of a controversial but talented player to the squad has been barely noticed

When Wales last won in Dublin, back in 2000, a high-profile player who had represented his country at outhalf and in the centre came off the bench in the second half to kick his side to victory. A nation hopes that Gavin Henson can emulate Neil Jenkins this Sunday.

Henson made a low-profile return to the squad this week, something which would have been unthinkable even a fortnight ago when the Wales players boycotted a media conference in protest at the presence of the journalist who had ghosted Henson's autobiography last year.

But his rehabilitation has been assisted by the furore prompted last week by the departure of the national coach Mike Ruddock, which forced Welsh Rugby Union officials to make a grab for their hard hats.

The 24-year-old, who recently moved with his partner Charlotte Church into a house protected by 10ft high electronic gates, has been restored to the squad after an 11-month absence through unavailability, injury and suspension.

The acting Wales head coach Scott Johnson watched his comeback from a 51-day ban last Friday, when the Ospreys defeated the Borders in Swansea. He had no hesitation in bringing him back.

Ruddock would have had more difficulty in making that decision - not because Henson, who will cover the centre, outhalf and full-back positions from the bench, was not needed as a player but because, having lost the dressingroom, the return of a player rebuked by the squad in November for comments and revelations he had made in his autobiography would have become another focus for discontent, even if the differences with Henson had been resolved.

Johnson, who could not be more popular with the players if he signed blank cheques at the end of every training session, knew he would have no such problems. "The decision to pick Gavin was mine and the selectors', made in the best interests of the team," Johnson said.

"I looked at him closely last Friday and there was more good than bad in his play. I always said that the decision whether to select him would be a rugby one. He is a player who can do things that are not easily coached: you cannot put in what has been left out and he was given plenty of talent."

Henson has not played internationally since the second Lions Test in New Zealand last summer. He missed the first three months of this season with a groin problem which required surgery and, two matches into his Ospreys comeback, he was suspended for 72 days for elbowing the Leicester prop Alex Moreno in the face and breaking the Italian's nose during the Heineken European Cup match in Swansea; the ban was reduced by three weeks on appeal.

"I was very surprised when I was named in the squad," said Henson yesterday. "I had a telephone call last Saturday inviting me to training but I did not expect to be involved in Dublin. I am delighted to be back and there were no problems when I met up with the players again. We had sorted everything out last November and my focus is on helping Wales retain our Six Nations title.

"We badly need some stability after the events of the last week and I hope we can keep Scott Johnson when his contract ends next month. He is a brilliant coach and he has done so much for my game; I would be here all night if I explained exactly what. I have a huge amount of respect for the man."

The Wales players, led by their captain Gareth Thomas, who will not play again during this championship after rupturing a blood vessel in his neck as he watched television on Sunday, were unhappy about Henson's book, which was serialised in two newspapers.

Such was their mood last autumn that some privately questioned whether he should ever be recalled because of what they felt was a gross breach of trust. Unlike other suspended players he did not train with the squad during his ban but he has now been welcomed back.

"It was good to see Gavin again," said the Wales outhalf Stephen Jones. "He is a great rugby player and there are no issues lingering from his book. He has been through some tough times since we won the grand slam and he has fitted back in without any problems.

"Scott Johnson did not need to consult with the players before selecting Gavin after watching him play last week: he has his finger on the pulse and he made the right call."

Jones said he had noticed a change in Henson who, since kicking the penalty which won the opening match in last year's Six Nations against England, has become the highest-profile rugby player in the British Isles through his relationship with Church.

"Gavin has matured," said Jones. "He has been through so much for a young guy but what people may not be properly aware of, because of all the media attention that surrounds him, is he is a model professional player.

"He is very ambitious, driven by a burning desire to succeed. Because he has been out of the squad for so long all the back moves have changed but he wasted no time in getting to know them all and he quickly had them off pat. I know I speak for everyone in the squad when I say that it is great to have him back."

Guardian Service