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i've been catching the ospreys games of late. and i've noticed that although gavin henson has undeniable talent, he seems to be a very laid back player right now. missing easy conversions and penalties. i feel that he is resting on his laurels. whats ur take on this, guys
Spending all his time Rucking and Mauling this:
I'd be tired too!
Its a massive debate at the moment where is he best at?
For myself he is best at fullback and when he has played there for the Ospreys he has brought a different game to them. He is a good runner, tackler etc and he is best suited to full back. However others will disagree with me! Some say he is better at 10 or even at 12. But at 10 he seems to laid back, at 12 he sometimes look's out of place.
Any other views on it guys?
All I know is that on R2006 he is amazing at 10!
at 10 i think he lacks that sense of urgency, he's just strolling around.
Again hes the best 15 for Wales however he is the best 10 for the Ospreys!
I have never liked Gavin Henson at Fly Half.
Either 12 or full back are his positions, but he has to be given the chance to gain some consistency at any of these positions.
He's been msessed around in regards to positions for a while and its reflecting in the way he plays.
He's playing at 10 right now and i think it's showing that he doesn't have the brain for the position. He struggles with the game, thinks over things too much and in the time he's trying to make decisions he'll simply drift across the field reducing space for his players and usually kicks aimlessly or passes to a static player, leaving the aim of making the gain line a very difficult prospect.
When he does gets his spouts of genius, when he does create absolute awesome moves it's usually in the role of an inside centre.
Why play him at 10 for Ospreys when he can't settle there and then if he does get picked for wales will either go 12 or 15?
He needs to stop pissin about with aimless little chips, and has to be more direct when running. I think he trying too hard cos he feels he has to prove himself. This could be due to him being seen as a celeb as opposed to a rugby player.
It's pretty easy to slip into that superstar comfort zone...you see it time and time again with the big name footy players.He needs to stop pissin about with aimless little chips, and has to be more direct when running. I think he trying too hard cos he feels he has to prove himself. This could be due to him being seen as a celeb as opposed to a rugby player.
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You can't keep a good dog down though...form is temporary, class lasts
wise words from Royal Blue
but what i meant was that he doesnt like being seen as just a celeb, and is now doubling his efforts to be seen as great rugby player instead
I agree. At the beginning he wanted nothing more than to have the fame that comes with being a celebrated Welsh rugby player. But he's seen there's a backlash to it (especially when your season goes awry) and he's really knuckling down on becoming that rugby player he's been hyped up to be, and trying to stay out of the lime light as often as possible.but what i meant was that he doesnt like being seen as just a celeb, and is now doubling his efforts to be seen as great rugby player instead
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Very rarely do i see him in the papers any more.
...well except for his driving ban he recieved today.
Serves you right for driving so fast, you bloody idiot.
well he was on his way to save loads of under privalaged children with colds.
I know, can you believe that's the excuse they gave as to why the judge couldn't give anything BUT a minimum sentence!
"But i get banned from driving for too long, then it'll affect my charitable work with children."
Whatever!
i think gareth thomas is the netter or best fullback...
WHY THE HELL DID THEY ALLOW HENSON TO PLAY 12 FOR THE AUTUMN INTLS?!?!!?
Need i remind that Gareth Thomas wwas a very good center, thats where he shuld play and Henson at fullback
have never seen the guy playing anythig but 12 for the lions and wales. is he fast enough to be a fullback?
Henson's got the speed, size, strength and kicking ability to a great full back.
Lyn Jones (Ospreys coach) believes that Henson's strongest position is at Full Back. Why he doesn't play him there on a regular basis, you ask? Coz Ospreys have no No.10 so Gav has to cover.
And if you've seen Gav at fly half...he plays exactly the same game as he would at inside centre.
He can't think like a fly half...it's not his position.
But in essence he's got quite a bit of experience at full back at club level, and a small amount at international level.
he sounds pretty good, might try to watch a few of his club games. did he get to play against australia?
No, because he is starting at 12 on Saturday. It would be a big risk if he played in last night game.
Yea physically Henson is up there, People like to call him apretty boy, But physically hes solid, He took out English center Matt Tait out not once, But twice ...Two big tackles. During the Lions series he made a great Covering tackle on Gear where Gear just bounced off and went into touch. He wasnt afraid to put the shoulder on Umaga either.
He doesnt read the game very well though, Seems real relaxed at 1st 5 Just slots in a throws a pass or kicks, Its like hes playing touch rugby. He has the biggest boot in Rugby though, Can kick 22 to 22 without the ball bouncing it seems. Im not sure if he is a "STAR" player though, Hes more like the guy who just does his part from the looks of things in recent weeks.
Yea physically Henson is up there, People like to call him apretty boy, But physically hes solid, He took out English center Matt Tait out not once, But twice ...Two big tackles. During the Lions series he made a great Covering tackle on Gear where Gear just bounced off and went into touch. He wasnt afraid to put the shoulder on Umaga either.
He doesnt read the game very well though, Seems real relaxed at 1st 5 Just slots in a throws a pass or kicks, Its like hes playing touch rugby. He has the biggest boot in Rugby though, Can kick 22 to 22 without the ball bouncing it seems. Im not sure if he is a "STAR" player though, Hes more like the guy who just does his part from the looks of things in recent weeks.
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You've pretty much got Henson nailed on the head there, mate.
He's not a "star" i always believed he had the potential to be, especially after the 04/05 season with Ospreys and Wales, but things have gone downhill since then and he's trying to do his best to make a comeback. He is still only 24, so there's plenty of time for him yet.
Henson has a massive boot on him.
One of my favourite memories was when he was about 19/20 years old playing for Swansea (before Ospreys had been created) against Newport (I think). It was a horribly rainy night, the rugby was ugly, everything was unappealing. Quality of ball delivery was terrible all night and off the back of a line out Henson eventually received the ball about 15 metres from his own try line. He booted the ball to safety only to hear the thousands watching gasp as the ball carried on drifting. It didn't land til it reached the oppositions 22 metre line and with one bounce hurled itself over into dead ball territory.
A scrum was therefore awarded to the opposition about 15 metres from the try line. Henson simply wiped his hands dry and got back into position as if nothing had happened. The commentators couldn't stop going on about that kick for about 5 minutes.
It was unbelievable.
i take what i said back... gavin henson didnt play too badly against aus
yea, gavin henson has a huge boot...can kick further than anyone one...but he still hasnt got that something....i guess u win some and lose some....he has to work harder on his game awareness
Henson is Wales true Welsh Full Back.
For me on saturday I thought they would take Kevin Morgan off, put Thomas into center, Mark Jones on the wing and Gav at full back, they chose not to.
nah f*** tht son, hes good at fb, but his best position is inside centre, someone with his play making skills needs to be involved, you wont get the best from him at fb.
I agree with you there, mate.nah f*** tht son, hes good at fb, but his best position is inside centre, someone with his play making skills needs to be involved, you wont get the best from him at fb.
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Regardless of what Lyn Jones says, and yes Henson IS a good full back, his best position is inside centre.
I just wish they would play him there with the Ospreys:
10. Hook
12. Henson
It's an obvious choice for me...
I think Wales need Henson in midfield to act as the second playmaker when they go wide. His offload to Shanklin while being hit by Tuquiri was sensational.
The first time I really thought he was going to be good was when I saw him play for Swansea against Leinster in the HEC about 5 years ago. Swansea got hammered by over 50 points but Henson scored a full house, including a great try. He was far too good for that Swansea team that night.
Yeah, those were the days when Henson looked like a creep with his hair slicked back, but he performed consistently well for his team.
Unfortunatlely he's struggling to find it these days.
I just hope the autumn internationals help him a bit.
What best at inside center, i dont think so. He lacks a good rugby brain to play there.nah f*** tht son, hes good at fb, but his best position is inside centre, someone with his play making skills needs to be involved, you wont get the best from him at fb.
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i dissagree, henson has a tremendous pass, and he has an ability to create space for others around him which is crucial in the modern game, at fb he is far too out of the game, and doesnt really have as much imputous on the outcome, wales need his distribution skills in the midfield.
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