Henson must prove he is the main man

The Ospreys' European Cup tie against Gloucester in the bear pit of an enlarged Kingsholm tomorrow night will determine whether Henson has recovered sufficiently from the trauma of missing a second World Cup to command a place against South Africa in Cardiff on Saturday week.

In contrast to his celebrity status off the field as Charlotte Church's other half, Henson's rugby profile has been almost subterranean despite repeated changes of hairstyle since his return from the Lions tour of New Zealand more than two years ago.

Now, after a series of setbacks ending in his abrupt removal from the summer training camp for not being fit for the World Cup, the centre with the gold and silver boots is back in contention, one of 31 players named yesterday for the one-off Test against the somewhat depleted World Cup winners.

Henson, still only 25, has not started any of his country's last 15 internationals and will only begin this one by making a favourable impression at a venue famous for never giving the opposition an even break, especially when it happens to come from across the Welsh border.

With Wales having decided to put their old war horse Gareth Thomas out to grass, the focus now shifts back to their prodigal son.

'There are a couple of positions still up for grabs and Gavin is someone we would all dearly like to see back at the top of his game,' said caretaker coach Nigel Davies.

'We all know his potential but we need to see a bit more. He is one of those players in need of a big game this weekend, in a difficult environment, to convince us he is ready to return to the international arena.'

The fact that he will be in direct opposition to a pair of England centres, Mike Tindall and Anthony Allen, makes Friday's exercise all the more challenging.

'Gavin's been showing encouraging signs for the Ospreys and it will be a tough test for him against Tindall and Allen,' said Davies. 'We need him somewhere near the peak of his powers if we are to get the best out of him against South Africa.'

The one guarantee about a European tie described by Gloucester coach Dean Ryan as 'a firecracker' is that Henson will sport a different look, follically speaking, to when he last ran into an English centre in February 2005. The spiky silver look has long gone, the latest version being a more sober, shorter cut which has had him compared to the young Severiano Ballesteros.

Henson has not started an international since the home match against Australia last November.

Since then a succession of injuries followed by dips in form and fitness have restricted him to just two appearances as a substitute, both during much-devalued end-ofseason Tests in Australia. Like Henson, Tindall has a point to prove after he, too, missed the World Cup.

Fully recovered from a broken leg, he was as sharp and hungry as ever in Gloucester's streamlined back division when they shredded Ulster with five tries in 22 first-half minutes in Belfast last weekend.

Wales, whose squad includes one uncapped player in Llanelli full back Morgan Stoddart, will reduce the number to 24 on Sunday.