Henson back with sights set on Kiwi World Cup
Source: Agencies |
December 22, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
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AFTER a self-imposed exile of nearly two years, Gavin Henson is set to make his return to the rugby field this weekend feeling physically and mentally refreshed and with his sights set on playing for Wales at the 2011 World Cup.
Henson went on unpaid, indefinite leave from Welsh side the Ospreys in March 2009 following a series of injuries that ravaged a career that had hit the heights in 2005. He has since split from his celebrity fiancee and taken part in two reality TV shows.
But he has been lured back to the sport less than a year before the World Cup in New Zealand, and should be among the replacements for new club Saracens in an English league match against Wasps at Wembley stadium on Sunday.
"After six, seven months out, I didn't miss it at all," the 28-year-old Henson said on Monday. "But then luckily I got those feelings back and I started missing it. I started dreaming about playing again.
"It's been a while, 21 months. But I'm really excited about it. I have no idea where I am at, to be honest. But I'm feeling pretty good, my skill levels aren't too bad in training and it's going to be fun."
Henson, who has won 31 test caps, shot to prominence internationally by kicking a last-minute penalty in a man-of-the-match performance to earn Wales an 11-9 victory over fierce rival England in the opening match of the 2005 Six Nations.
That campaign culminated in Wales' first Grand Slam in 27 years, but although he showed flashes of brilliance in the next four years, during which time he started a high-profile relationship with Welsh singer Charlotte Church, a succession of injuries halted his progression.
Henson went on unpaid, indefinite leave from Welsh side the Ospreys in March 2009 following a series of injuries that ravaged a career that had hit the heights in 2005. He has since split from his celebrity fiancee and taken part in two reality TV shows.
But he has been lured back to the sport less than a year before the World Cup in New Zealand, and should be among the replacements for new club Saracens in an English league match against Wasps at Wembley stadium on Sunday.
"After six, seven months out, I didn't miss it at all," the 28-year-old Henson said on Monday. "But then luckily I got those feelings back and I started missing it. I started dreaming about playing again.
"It's been a while, 21 months. But I'm really excited about it. I have no idea where I am at, to be honest. But I'm feeling pretty good, my skill levels aren't too bad in training and it's going to be fun."
Henson, who has won 31 test caps, shot to prominence internationally by kicking a last-minute penalty in a man-of-the-match performance to earn Wales an 11-9 victory over fierce rival England in the opening match of the 2005 Six Nations.
That campaign culminated in Wales' first Grand Slam in 27 years, but although he showed flashes of brilliance in the next four years, during which time he started a high-profile relationship with Welsh singer Charlotte Church, a succession of injuries halted his progression.
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