Gavin Henson sacked by Cardiff Blues for 'unacceptable' behaviour on flight from Glasgow

First topic message reminder :

Sacked.

Shame really.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/17575844

I don't think Henson was a wasted talent at all... in fact I think he will be used as an example to all young Welsh players in the future, he will be used to show them what can happen if you let fame go to your head, and get distracted by outside factors, instead of concentrating on rugby.

He was a good player, but even at his very best he would never have got to the status of Gareth Thomas, Gareth Edwards, Phil Bennett, etc.

He is more on the level of Michael Owen, Kevin Morgan and Nigel Davies.

gowales wrote:I could see him at the Ospreys and i hope that Cuddy and Tandy get in contact with him. He still has a lot to offer and judging by the tweets, most of the Ospreys players respect him.

I didn't want him back at the start of the season, but having seen Fussell play, I'd love to see us have Henson at full back over him.

gowales wrote:Interesting comments by Lyn Jones (ex Osprey coach)

"He's a gentleman, he's very polite and - make no bones - he's no different to lots of young rugby players," he told the BBC.

"They could have dealt with it in several ways. They could have even invited Gavin in today to explain himself and his mitigation but he wasn't invited in - he was sacked on the spot.

"They could have had a one-match ban, they could have fined him, they could have done several things but they decided to make an example of him."

I like Lyn Jones - something of a rugby genius - but why is he talking about Henson like he's some kid straight out of the youth team? As opposed to a 30 year old, experienced international rugby player, millionaire.

Makes them both appear a bit odd.

Disagree Alyn, Henson is one of the most talented players I've ever seen.

He has a complete skill set and I have no doubt he could have been the best 12 in the world.

He could have been as good as Dan Carter. He was fast, powerful, brilliant footballing skills and amazing natural awareness of space and game reading ability.

He blew it by believing in his own hype and letting fame go to his head. He has a bad attitude too.

As someone said before he's the welsh Gazza. A total waste of talent.

roddersm wrote:As someone said before he's the welsh Gazza. A total waste of talent.

Well, let's hope the comparison ends there. It's one thing ruining your career, quite another messing up your whole life.

You get the feeling that Gazza is lost without football. Henson, on the other hand, seems to be able to take rugby or leave it. Probably healthier in the long-term as long as he's got a focus like the media tosh that he seems to enjoy.

Pretty sure that it was Lyn Jones that made the point that some people had been done for drink-driving(Glaws player with Royal conections) and had been kept on at club and international level whilst Gav the plank has been shafted for lobbing ice cubes.Funny old world.The Glaws bloke has always been crap whilst Gav had his moments.

If Henson had injured someone with one of the ice cubes - do you think he would have avoided any potential criminal charges due to the ice melting away by the time the police forensic team boarded the plane - thus leaving no evidence of the crime?

Saw that in a film once. Think it was an ice bullet though. Rather than a cube.

Casartelli wrote:If Henson had injured someone with one of the ice cubes - do you think he would have avoided any potential criminal charges due to the ice melting away by the time the police forensic team boarded the plane - thus leaving no evidence of the crime?

Saw that in a film once. Think it was an ice bullet though. Rather than a cube.

Wasn't that in Columbo?

What if the Glaws bloke wiped a family out on the M4 whilst peed?

Blame the flight crew for giving him drink; blame them for giving him ice cubes. Blame the Blues management for allowing the flight crew to ply him with booze and ice cubes. Blame his fellow players for not stopping these antics.

It's not Henson's fault he can't handle a glug


I like(d) watching the guy play the game, and he is/was arguably the most gifted 12 in Europe in the last 8 years or so. But most of us would have been given the boot from our day jobs if we had done the same thing whilst on company duty.

The issues within the club aside, he gave his employer little choice, and he knows it himself.

I can't understand why some people defend him.

Hound_of_Harrow

This is just a minor incident and it's used as a excuse to get rid of him.
I would have thought deliberately breaking a opponents arm or any gouging incidents would give employers little option but players who commit offenses like that are not sacked.

Yes he has been foolish in the past but this incident would not have made the news if any other player did it unless they were Cipriani Care or Henson.

Cymroglan wrote:Hound_of_Harrow

This is just a minor incident and it's used as a excuse to get rid of him.
I would have thought deliberately breaking a opponents arm or any gouging incidents would give employers little option but players who commit offenses like that are not sacked.

Yes he has been foolish in the past but this incident would not have made the news if any other player did it unless they were Cipriani Care or Henson.

Couldn't agree more, he has past issues, so if he had learnt his lesson, he wouldn't give the media or the public any excuse to get him into trouble, but alas he still acts like a tool

Cymro, what's going on at the Blues I really don't know, certainly not in terms if them looking for an excuse to sack Henson.

I agree that clubs should look at their players who commit acts of serious foul play with a view to terminating their contract if they feel such acts constitute gross misconduct.

Also agree that everyone would have been all over this if it was Cipriani or Care.

I still stand by my comment that what Henson has done (i.e. cause the public distress again) whilst representing his employer on a public flight is the reason for his dismissal.

Care and Cipriani's misdemeanors occurred in their own time, though in Care's case, with alcohol the common theme, you would have thought he would be 'getting the message.'

This is such a shame. Having watched the guy play, he obviously had massive natural talent.

He clearly has a problem with alcohol, but also seems to crave attention - maybe believing in his own hype too much.

I can't see another team taking a chance on him at 30 with his record, so it looks as if his career may be over - I hope not as, on form, he was great to watch.

Hopefully other young talented players who get hailed as celebrities will take note.

This was simply the wrong contract for Henson.

he was on a pay per play deal and the Blues are in such a financial downward spiral that they could not afford to play him. This meant that players were selected who weren't even fit to clean his boots. On the weekend due to injury they had to put him on the bench (he wasn't even in the 23 originally) and they gave him 10 mins on the wing at the end.

The guy must be massively frustrated. Casey laulala said on twitter that it was a nothing incident and that the club is totally amateur in dealing with these things. The truth is this was only ever about saving a few £ for the club to try and stave off the inevitable end.

Good luck Gav. Good riddance Cardiff Blues.

Have to say I think comparing Gavin Henson to George Best or Maradonna is absolutely laughable. Best and Maradonna were two of the greatest their game has ever seen - the same cannot be said about Gavin Henson who even at his very best didnt come close to being a rugby legend.

Talent in today's sporting world is not enough. It only shows your ability of what you can do, to sustain that in a professional career you must mentally be focused to train hard, sacrafice a lot and behave in a manner that sets you up for a sustained career.

A lot of youngsters show talent only to mess it all up becuase they aren't mentally mature enough, success isn't always the best medicine early in one's life, it can cause you to lose touch with reality and it seems that is what happened to henson.

That is where coaches and parents play a role to educate and prepare young men for success and how to handle it. Yet sometimes even that is not a deterrent.

The academies here in SA focuses a lot on lifeskills especially for those kids that come from underpriviledged backgrounds, so that they are psychlogicaly prepared for the moment of fame and fortune.

This guy Hansen is starting to show a bit of form for abnormal behaviour.

Is he an alcoholic or just an idiot?

Henson must be the most famous rugby identity in British rugby,or at least he is on 606 v2.

He's got a this thread running as well as one in both the International and club sections,the only subjects which get more coverage are a tip tackle or one of those perpetual cicular threads on Irish selections.

Yeah I will merge all these threads now.

Classy typo Laurie!

Lyn Jones defended him saying the Blues were inexcusable for sacking him.
Yet Henson himself described his own behaviour as inexcusable.

No one in this incident comes out with credit it would appear.

The Team Manager - failing to control Henson

Henson - indefensible behaviour.

Blues - for sacking him.

Shanklin thought the sacking decision may have been influenced by the Blues being in financial do do but hoped it wasnt.

I would be amazed if it hadn't anything to do with the decision - it was a no brainer.

biltongbek wrote:All henson related topics merged.

Server overload!!!!

doctornickolas wrote:This was simply the wrong contract for Henson.

Yeah, the ones he had at Ospreys, Sarries and Toulon weren't quite right either. I think they must have had 'play rugby and not act like a nobber' clauses. That pesky small print again

Henson is a fool, but this stinks of cash-management more than player-management.

He's on a play for pay deal, he's had infinitely inferior players chosen over him at 10/12/15 this season and hes struggled to make the bench.

From what I've heard that actually happened it was barely worthy of a mention let alone him being sacked. Still, Henson has no-one to blame but himself for being in this position, I think this will be the end of his rugby career.

Interesting though that the only coach to get the best out of him (Lyn Jones) talks about him like you would do a child, perhaps thats where all the other coaches have gone wrong, they havent spoonfed him and kept him under surveilence? Maybe not everyone grows up.....

Sweeney and Tom James get cautioned on assualy charges and still get game time.

Henson gets drunk and causes a scene and gets sacked ? Stinks of BS to me, Laurel and Hardy are pair of clowns.

Am I the only one who would love to see him go to London Welsh, be sorted out with a string of games under a coach who both respects and is respected by Henson, and who can hopefully kick him up the backside and send him packing off to the Os? There was talk of a good Osprey's/Welsh link a few seasons back which fell apart but I think there are still closeish links between the sides.

Lynn Jones seems to think it will whip him into shape. He hasn't had chance to paly his actual position at the Blues - fullback and wing ?

Would Henson take a pay cut to play for London Welsh even if it was on a game by game basis?

I think he needs to show what he can still do for another club to take a chance on him, he still has a future in the game IMO.

London Welsh looks unlikely guys. Lyn jones has already answered that one.

Currie Cup rugby in the summer with the Sharks, who's coach John Plumtree is a big fan could be an option though.

Asked whether London Welsh would be interested in signing Henson, Jones said the English Championship club could not afford him.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/17595324

Henson has behaved very stupidly - again - and I guess he deserves to have been sacked.

But I think you have to question what the hell has been going on since he joined the Blues. They're in turmoil and although he has had the odd injury their treatment of him has been fairly mystifying. They've kept selecting inferior players ahead of him at centre when he clearly needed a run of games - even though they're now saying he had been a model professional until last Saturday morning. He can't handle his drink and it's embarrassing that he behaved like that on a flight but when he came onto the wing as a late substitute on Friday evening I did think at the time that he really must be at the end of his tether. And so it proved I guess. He's got to take responsibility for his actions but I also think he has been very treated badly by the Blues this season. Why did they even sign him in the first place??

I also agree that the contrast with Sweeney and James' treatment is completely hypocritical.

Cadair Idris wrote:Henson has behaved very stupidly - again - and I guess he deserves to have been sacked.

But I think you have to question what the hell has been going on since he joined the Blues. They're in turmoil and although he has had the odd injury their treatment of him has been fairly mystifying. They've kept selecting inferior players ahead of him at centre when he clearly needed a run of games - even though they're now saying he had been a model professional until last Saturday morning. He can't handle his drink and it's embarrassing that he behaved like that on a flight but when he came onto the wing as a late substitute on Friday evening I did think at the time that he really must be at the end of his tether. And so it proved I guess. He's got to take responsibility for his actions but I also think he has been very treated badly by the Blues this season. Why did they even sign him in the first place??

I also agree that the contrast with Sweeney and James' treatment is completely hypocritical.

Publicity

Nobody deserves to get sacked for throwing ice cubes . The point I tried to make when the whole story was revealed was the poor handling of the situation and the mis-management of Gavin Henson. I know Gav is an adult and responsible for his own actions but he's a player that went to the Blues to try and rebuild his career. After being told he would be considered in his favoured positions he was played mostly out of position, warmed the bench or not even make the squad. A situation Gav had got himself into but then attempted to do something about it, but the Blues and the chuckle brothers wrecked it all for him.

"Nobody deserves to get sacked for throwing ice cubes" He was drunk and causing a nuisance on a flight, serious enough for the Airline to ban him from travelling with them!

Given his recent track record, surely the Blues had a behave or else clause in his contract.

On the playing side, he is no better than a fringe squad player. Still has some nice touches but the deceptive pace that I witnesses when he played at St Helens as a young man has gone. He also seems to suffer from lapses in concentration and misses some important tackles.

He was a superbly talented individual, he had it all, exept for the top 6 inches.

He has now failed to make the grade at Sarecens, Toulon and the Blues and has build a reputation for being a devisive influence in the squad and also appears to have a problem with drink which leads him to bring his club the wrong kind of publicity.

I suspect at 30 years of age, this incident is the death knell for his rugby career. I hope he realises this and concentrates on his career in TV reality shows,

So a ban from the airline should have been punishment enough. You don't know if he had that in his contract. It all just further highlights what a mess they are in due to some unprofessional decisions and especially so seeing as one of their top players comments on it via Twitter.

Morgannwg wrote:So a ban from the airline should have been punishment enough. You don't know if he had that in his contract. It all just further highlights what a mess they are in due to some unprofessional decisions and especially so seeing as one of their top players comments on it via Twitter.

Point 1 if any normal employee who has only been working for his employer for 5 months did whilst henson did whilst on his employers business, He would be sacked. So why should this not apply to Henson?

Point 2 No I dont know what is in his contract but his team mate Warburton has said that Blues players have a behaviour code. Should this code apply to Henson?

Point 3 Casey Laulala a player who is leaving the Blues because they can not continue to pay him his (no doubt) considerable salary, accuses the club of being unprofessional. Why could that possibly be?

Don't get me wrong, if Henson gets another Pro contract and proves himself to be a valuable, top quality rugby professional then I will be delighted and would welcome seeing him back in a Welsh shirt. But I won't hold my breath!

There were several others involved, I struggle to believe that they weren't as drunk as Henson was after they all got back to the hotel and on the plane back. B and B summed up everything we needed to know:

"In the players that I have got - it has been well-documented that Jamie [Roberts] is injured which is a blow for us - two players in terms of Gavin Evans and Dafydd Hewitt who have epitomised exactly what the culture is here."

Evans and Hewitt were clearly allot more chummy with B and B, the region is going down the drain, this is just merely a small part of the demise at the club, what a shame.

Point 1 if any normal employee who has only been working for his employer for 5 months did whilst henson did whilst on his employers business, He would be sacked. So why should this not apply to Henson?

For throwing an ice cube? I doubt it. I was on a trip where my fellow employees were drinking outside the hotel. One peed outside and another stuck his finger up to another hotel guest looking out the window. Complaints were made and action was taken, but no sackings. You can't justify sacking anyone for throwing ice cubes no matter what you say and other players and other coaches agree. Besides, most know it probably isn't down to that behaviour on the plane and perhaps nothing to do with money either.

Point 2 No I dont know what is in his contract but his team mate Warburton has said that Blues players have a behaviour code. Should this code apply to Henson?

It applies to every player.

Point 3 Casey Laulala a player who is leaving the Blues because they can not continue to pay him his (no doubt) considerable salary, accuses the club of being unprofessional. Why could that possibly be?

Because they are unprofessional. He has been looking uninterested in playing for them all season, I doubt it was all down to his salary but rather down to the mess the club are in. I for one will take his word on that one. Blues aren't appealing for any player right now. I doubt if he is bitter over money seeing as Munster have signed him, his future is sorted and it is sorted by a professional outfit.

Morganwg, what is it with Henson, he really polarises opinion. For some he can do no wrong. For others he can do nothing right!

I can agree with your responses to Point 2 & 3. But he was not just throwing ice cubes, he wast drunk and causing a disturbance on a flight to the extent that he is now banned from flying with the airline. Even Gavin himself admitted how stupid he had been! Sorry but this was clearly bringing his employer into disrepute and certainly a sacking offence.

Banned from the airline means diddly though. End of the day, Flybe are probably loving this. Free advertising (used by Cardiff Blues to fly) and also a chance to show any bad behaviour isn't tolerated.

Seagultaf wrote:Morganwg, what is it with Henson, he really polarises opinion. For some he can do no wrong. For others he can do nothing right!

I can agree with your responses to Point 2 & 3. But he was not just throwing ice cubes, he wast drunk and causing a disturbance on a flight to the extent that he is now banned from flying with the airline. Even Gavin himself admitted how stupid he had been! Sorry but this was clearly bringing his employer into disrepute and certainly a sacking offence.

If that is a genuine question then I am not sure. I've commented on the matter again & again saying that only Henson has got himself into this situation now for where he has been drunk & disorderly and taking the sabbatical then having to fight his way back into rugby.

They have only banned Gav because of who he is, like Risca has pointed out. Any man can admit when he is out of order, which is what Gavin did. Bringing his employer into disrepute? The entire club/superclub/region has brought itself into disrepute! I bet the situation was hardly anything, a controllable one.

People of rugby are backing Gavin and rightly so. That doesn't mean they approve of what happened on the plane.

Even though I think Henson was an idiot and drinking on a flight at 7 am is really not on for a professional rugby player (even before we get onto the ice cubes), I can see Morgannwg's point of view here. Yes, no doubt it was a "sackable" offence. Just as Sweeney and James could have been sacked a few weeks ago. Doesn't mean it was the right decision. Rugby players would get "sacked" all the time if the sackable offence principle was applied. Including Cory Jane who played a big role in the latter stages of the world cup after some much worse antics than Mr Henson. No question in my mind that he has been given harsher treatment because of who he is - and maybe the coaches at the blues never wanted him in the first place and he was forced on them by Peter Thomas.

I quite like this as a read.

Sam Warburton has spoken out about his disappointment at seeing Gavin Henson depart from the Blues but has emphasised that the incident shows rugby players of the price they will pay if they step out of line.

Henson was sacked by the Blues on Monday after another off-field incident with his apology seemingly not enough to save his career in Cardiff. With his future now uncertain, Wales skipper Warburton has spoken of the player's quality while also highlighting the need to promote a good off-field profile while turning in performances on the field.

"Players may laugh when someone calls them a role model, but that is what they are," Warburton told Wales Online. "Because most players are grounded, and don't get ahead of themselves, some still think that they can behave as their friends might down the local pub.

"But you can't. I don't think it's a case of players being arrogant when they misbehave, it's more a case that they actually forget that they are under the microscope. The small sacrifices like behaving yourself on a night out, or wherever you may be, is really a very small sacrifice.

"For me, winning a Grand Slam, something hardly anyone will experience, is priceless compared to having to sacrifice a bit of alcohol once in a blue moon. So I just think, why bother? Gavin has now left the Blues, and the Blues could still potentially win the Heineken Cup.

"It might not be a massive chance, but it is a chance all the same - and now he could miss out on that because of misbehaviour. You have to take a step back and realise what opportunities you have as a rugby player and not let them slip from your grasp because of stepping out of line."

But while Warburton is in agreement with the Blues over their decision to oust Henson, he has also lauded the player's qualities. Warburton said: "I am only 23, and still inexperienced, but when he has the ball he is just such a classy player, an incredible talent. So it is disappointing to see him go, and I'm not sure what will happen with him now.

"He seemed to be just getting things back on track. He had settled in really well at the Blues, he got on well with everyone and all the players liked him. That was never an issue. But you can't blame the Blues because they have warned us before that any misbehaviour and there would be serious consequences.

Lyn Jones on Henson: "For Gavin to be hung out to dry like this is inexcusable"

"They have backed that up with the decision on Gavin and so now everybody knows now that they can't step out of line. I've never spoken to him about any further than this season, he always seemed pretty focused on getting back to playing rugby with the Blues.

"It's anybody's guess what will happen now. I hope from a rugby perspective that he does get playing again."

While Warburton has supported the Blues' decision- others are not so pleased. Current Blues centre Casey Laulala - who will leave the region at the end of the season - spoke out against the side's decision saying on his Twitter account - in a Tweet that was later removed - of the incident involving Henson: "It wasn't bad at all. Been blown out of proportion. Club are just amateurs dealing with things."

And former Ospreys coach Lyn Jones said: "They have to be looking at who was running that trip to Glasgow, they've got to be looking at the team manager. Why was he drinking in the morning? Why didn't they stamp that out?

"Henson's not innocent - he's made a mistake, like every other player. Like Danny Care, but has he been sacked by Quins? There are several hundred examples like this.

"It took a drugs scandal in Bath to get rid of some players. For Gavin to be hung out to dry like this is inexcusable." ESPN Scrum Staff, April 3rd, 2012 [WWW]. Can be accessed at: http://www.espnscrum.com/wales/rugby/story/162357.html

Warburton professional as ever. Most would agree with him and Lyn Jones and not with Baber. There is article on the Blues coaches opinions also on ESPN scrum.

Morgannwg wrote:the Blues could still potentially win the Heineken Cup.

This bit made me laugh

It's true, they have a 1/8 chance.

Glas a du wrote:It's true, they have a 1/8 chance.

Its not decided by drawing lots

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:

Glas a du wrote:It's true, they have a 1/8 chance.

Its not decided by drawing lots

I have to agree with PSW.

The best betting odds you can get is 50/1. The Worst 31/1. And the modal, 40/1

http://www.oddschecker.com/rugby-union/club-rugby/heineken-cup/winner

could the WRU not employ Lyn Jones to be Hensons carer or something?

and to be fair to Warbs he did balance it out with "it might not be a massive chance"

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:

Glas a du wrote:It's true, they have a 1/8 chance.

Its not decided by drawing lots

You have to be in it to win it. One of the 8 will do, it's a 1 in 8 possibility. Probability is different.