Henson bids to resurrect his career with London Welsh

Gavin Henson has been given yet another chance to resurrect his career by joining Aviva Premiership newcomers London Welsh.

Wales centre Henson, 30, has been without a club since April, after being sacked by Cardiff Blues over his drunken behaviour on a flight returning from a game in Glasgow.

The move is a gamble for London Welsh but Henson previously worked with Exiles coach Lyn Jones during his time at the Ospreys, producing arguably the best rugby of his career and helping the region win two Celtic League titles and an Anglo-Welsh Cup.

Jones is confident that he can get the best out of Henson, but has warned plenty of patience will be required given the three-quarter has made just 17 appearances in 41 months.

Jones said: “There’s a good chance he’ll never reach those heights [of his time at the Ospreys] again, but he just needs to get up to speed and establish himself and I’m not really confident he’ll become a very, very good player until about maybe mid-October, November.

“The guy needs a bit of time, he needs a bit of space, his tools are quite blunt and he’ll need to sharpen them up, so he’s got a lot of work ahead of him that he’s prepared to get on with.

“He’s rolling his sleeves up, and all you can do is offer people opportunities. It’s up to them how they take it, but we’re confident that he can deliver.”

Henson won the most recent of his 33 Wales caps in the World Cup warm-up victory over England in Cardiff last August, but a wrist injury sustained in that game denied him the chance to be involved in the World Cup in New Zealand.

Despite playing an integral part in Wales’ 2005 and 2008 Grand Slam campaigns, and touring New Zealand with the Lions in 2005, Henson has yet to deliver consistently on the glimpses of class he has shown during a chequered career.

The Blues were Henson’s fourth club in little over a year after being released by the Ospreys in 2010 and having short stints at Saracens and Toulon.

As the Exiles, prepare for their first top-flight campaign, Henson will start training with his new team-mates tomorrow.

London Welsh managing director and former Wales flanker John Taylor said: “We are delighted to have been able to sign a player of Gavin’s pedigree,. He is the first to admit things have gone a little haywire over the last few years but he has impressed on me that he still has a lot to prove as a rugby player and is determined to ensure he is not remembered as somebody who never fulfilled his great potential.”