Gavin Henson: The kick that changed everything
Men's Six Nations: Wales v EnglandVenue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff Date: Saturday, 15 March Kick-off: 16:45 GMTCoverage: Watch on BBC One, BBC Sport website and app, plus S4C via iPlayer. Text commentary and highlights on BBC Sport website and app. Listen live on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, BBC Radio 5 Live.
Gavin Henson never underestimated himself. Two decades have passed since his kick to beat England paved the way to a first Welsh Grand Slam in 27 years. His first answer in a post-match TV interview surmised his role in one of the most defining moments in Welsh sporting history:"It was written for me wasn't it?"The 72,000 supporters in the stadium and the millions at home could also sense the greater significance of his match winning penalty. As the ball sailed between the posts former England prop Brian Moore on commentary remarked, "do not underestimate the enormity of that kick."With the benefit of hindsight Moore's line had dual meaning: Henson's kick would transform the Welsh sporting landscape; it would also change Gavin Henson's life forever.
A mile or so away from the Principality Stadium, in a local pub, another Welsh icon Charlotte Church, was glued to the TV. She decided to hunt down the man in the silver boots."I was in here watching the game, and I didn't know Gav before that. And then I was like, I'm gonna go out and find him in town."Church was speaking on her podcast Kicking Back with the Cardiffians where she also described the pressures of life in the spotlight. This was the life Henson stepped into when they eventually met, forging Wales' version of Posh and Becks. Henson went from a well-known rugby player to a front-page UK celebrity.The mid-noughties was the era of reality TV, where the tabloids and glossy magazines like Heat and Hello were King and Queen makers. Henson would go on to star in a variety of shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and The Bachelor.He was, arguably, the most famous man in Wales.
Henson remains as enigmatic as ever, making him the perfect subject for a series to coincide with the 20-year anniversary of that kick, and so Golden Boy: Finding Gavin Henson was conceived.The purpose of the podcast was to track him down and speak to him. The finding part was the easy bit. He owns a pub in the Vale of Glamorgan, where he lives a quiet life pulling pints and washing pans. Convincing Henson to revisit his own story was the challenge.Numerous colleagues had attempted and failed to get his involvement in a documentary series. He would often agree tentatively to the initial idea before eventually pulling out, or in some cases fail to reply to any further messages.The idea of this superstar hiding in plain sight fascinated us, so we decided to document the process of reaching out to him whilst also telling the remarkable story of his life on and off the field.
Henson would eventually retire in 2019. The final decade of his career would see him bounce along from club to club, embroiled in numerous controversies. It was often easy at that time to forget the huge impact he had as a player in the mid to late noughties.Henson was instrumental in the Grand Slam successes of 2005 and 2008. His partnership with Tom Shanklin was the cornerstone of the team's attacking and defensive system."I would just be in awe of what he could do, whether it be upending someone in a tackle, whether it be smashing a conversion or a penalty, whether it be his vision, putting someone into a hole," said Shanklin."When he was on form and he wanted to play there was no one better."Six months after his heroics against England, at 23 years of age, Henson decided to publish an autobiography which would tear the national team apart. In the book he openly criticised several of his team-mates and the saga would eventually lead to the resignation of head coach Mike Ruddock.A couple of years later the Welsh Rugby Union decided to use his image in a 100 ft poster promoting their new kit. There was only one issue: Henson was on a self-imposed hiatus from the game.
Henson was an outlier, a man who split the opinions of team-mates, coaches and supporters. He was his own man who would strike his own hits.Which brings us back to the kick. There is less than five minutes left on the clock when a penalty is awarded to Wales. Stephen Jones had taken the previous kicks that day, but he stepped away."When you have someone with an amazing talent who can kick a ball a long, long way, and you have a secret weapon and someone who has the ability to smash a ball 50m, you think, well, we've got to use this guy," said Jones.Jones understood that a kick of around 50m at an angle was beyond his and most people's range."There's not many people now in world rugby who can take on kicks of that distance comfortably," he said. Wales fly-half Rhys Patchell is a self-confessed kicking nerd. Even he concedes that he very rarely practiced from that position on the pitch."It is almost Hollywoodesque in terms of the script is written and you just step up and you do it. I think it's the sort of effortlessness," Patchell told the podcast.Effortlessness is an appropriate term to describe Henson's playing career. He seemed blessed with abilities that others simply did not possess. He could do what others could not and he did it with ease.It is this unique sporting ability that was the ultimate driver in my effort to speak to him. It is fair to say that the journey has been challenging. Henson remains as unpredictable as ever, occasionally resurfacing before returning to the shadows. It is that elusiveness that fascinates me and so many others.Golden Boy: Finding Gavin Henson is available now on BBC Sounds
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