It’s Henson v Tait again

Jan 27 2008 by Simon Roberts, Wales On Sunday

IT has proved to be the defining game of both their careers, writes SIMON ROBERTS.

Three years ago, Gavin Henson and Matthew Tait clashed during Wales’ victory over England at the Millennium Stadium.

Henson, who dumped Tait on his backside twice during the game and landed the winning penalty, was feted as Wales’ latest sporting hero back in 2005.

Wales marched to their first Grand Slam since 1978, he picked up a celebrity girlfriend, Charlotte Church, wrote his biography at the tender age of 23, and had big-name sponsors queuing up to splash the cash on him.

With hindsight, that kick and those two tackles were the worst things to happen to him and for too long have looked like becoming the high point of his career.

Ever since, his career has been blighted by controversy, injuries, suspension and loss of form.

He has started only two Test matches for Wales since the Grand Slam campaign of 2005.

Tait, on the other hand, was pilloried for his performance against Henson.

The 19-year-old was deemed to be a boy playing a man’s game and had to go back to school before he would be considered for England again.

But the Englishman, unlike his Welsh counterpart, has shown remarkable resilience and bounced back from adversity.

So much so, he is now seen, once again, as the future of English rugby.

He played a pivotal role for England in the 2007 World Cup while Henson wasn’t selected for Wales and watched the tournament from his sofa at home.

Tait’s performance for England against South Africa in the World Cup final in Paris underlined he is a class act. He has fulfilled his potential, while we are all still waiting for Henson to do the same.

Henson and Tait will come face-to-face once again at Twickenham next Saturday.

They may not get a chance to renew acquaintances directly; Tait is expected to play full-back, while Henson will wear his favoured No 12 shirt.

But it is an intriguing battle within a bigger battle.

Sean Holley, the Ospreys assistant coach and mentor to Henson, appreciates the irony.

“It is one of the sub-plots in the game everybody will talk about,” said Holley. “It’s amazing to think that it has been three years since they first met at the Millennium Stadium and that their paths haven’t crossed since.”

Henson, while not back to top form, has shown enough glimpses to show he is getting back to his best.

The once ‘golden boy’ of Welsh rugby still has much to prove, but Holley is quick to defend him.

“I think, like everything with Gavin, people tend to swing one way or the other. There is no middle ground and I think he has dealt with everything thrown at him with remarkable maturity.

“I don’t know how many of us would have survived what Gavin has been through.

“Now he just has to let his rugby do the talking and I am sure he will do that.”

Henson’s prodigious talent has never been in doubt but the 25-year-old knows it’s high time he proved himself in the Test arena.

This should be the golden period of his career but it has stuttered to alarming degree.

Ieuan Evans, the former Wales skipper, believes Henson is a symbol of Welsh rugby’s recent history.

“I don’t think Gavin is the only problem but he is a symbol of our inconsistency over the last few years,” said Henson.

“He isn’t the only Welsh player who hasn’t delivered what we had hoped for.

“Inconsistency seems to have been a Welsh disease in recent years.

“The England game is certainly a chance of redemption for a lot of Welsh players. Let’s hope they take it.”

Henson, and all the Welsh players, only have to look to Tait’s example to see what can be achieved with mental toughness and sheer bloody-mindedness. They will need to display all those qualities at Twickenham next weekend.