Summer musings: Part II

Some recent columns of mine: Why the RFU was right not to reduce Richard Cockerill's ban (this was written before the Leicester DoR's appeal hearing, but you'll catch my drift) and what 7s can do to lift the English professional game.

How Gavin Henson's jaw raised the ghost of 2009

We've all had a good gawp at this video - and in the process been reminded of how smartphones and social media have propelled famous sports people into a state of near-permanent visibility. But what does Carl Fearns' punch on Gavin Henson really mean for their club and the sport?

Forget Henson for a moment. Forget Fearns, too. Despite the spin that Gav-watchers might try and put on this incident in the Pig and Fiddle pub in Bath city centre last week, the significance of what happened is more about the consequences for the club as a collective than the consequences for a couple of its players.

Haunting the post-mortem into the bust-up has been the ghost of deeds past.

Four summers ago, the curtain came whizzing down on what – for want of a better phrase – was a ‘party culture’ at Bath Rugby.  The club was in a state of tumult following an RFU hearing that saw former team-mates effectively testify against former team-mates over allegations of who took what on a night out. Within a space of four months, five players – including the club’s co-captains – had left the club having either admitted taking Class A recreational drugs or having been accused of taking Class A drugs.

In the wake of that crisis, Bath laudably instigated a player-led process of developing a list of values that formed the essence of the club. The bond of camaraderie that underpins a successful rugby club may have been dealt a major blow, but the club was quick to start the healing process.

When Fearns’ right fist connected with Henson’s jaw last Wednesday, the ghost of 2009 was temporarily resurrected.

The club knows it cannot afford to once again be the object of speculation and innuendo about what its players are up to off the field. Such distractions do not foster the single-mindedness required to make a mid-table side into a table-topping side.

This time last year – with the arrival of a new coaching team – the club’s marketing people dubbed the 2012-13 campaign ‘A New Beginning’. That catchline, with all its connotations of a clean slate, cannot be allowed to be contaminated by questionable off-field behaviour.

And that’s why the club has acted swiftly and decisively, fining Henson and Fearns and issuing them with written warnings.

Interestingly, however, not a single former Bath player I’ve spoken to since the incident believes what happened is necessarily a bad thing for the club, at least as far as squad development is concerned.

It may sound a tad oafish, but in rugby the use of fists against one’s own is usually construed as a sign of passion and commitment. Players only fight in training because they are pumped up and care about what they are doing.

Leicester’s training ground fights are the stuff of legend – and look at their track record.

The problem last week was that the niggle spilled out in a very public way.

It was unedifying and unacceptable in a public place, yes. But, given the oddities of masculine initiation, Gavin Henson will probably feel a more integrated member of the Bath Rugby squad today than he did a fortnight ago.

As one ex-player put it to me, "It's old school rugby values. Is it right? Probably not."

This post is based on a column for The Bath Chronicle.

Ok, so you were right, Warren!

When Brian O'Driscoll was dropped ahead of the Lions' series decider, I tweeted that removing BOD from a Lions lineup on the eve of a tour finale was akin to removing turkey from the menu on December 24.
I then wrote a column saying Warren Gatland had not only succeeded in wrong-footing the opposition by dropping O'Driscoll - he'd wrong-footed his own team, too.
Gatland got stick from many quarters - but what a vindication he received on Saturday.
The record-breaking 41-16 demolition of the Wallabies was so comprehensive that there have already been calls for Gatland to be knighted.
While Gatland contemplates his potential elevation, I - and many other pundits - are left to contemplate our own inadequacies when it comes to crystal ball-gazing.
Journalists aren't always the most humble bunch, but mea culpa, Warren!

Pumas as well as Lions

The Lions tour may be in full swing, but don't forget the goings-on elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere. I've been on Argentina watch with the BBC this week: Billy Twelvetrees talks about how the relationship he has built up with Gloucester team-mate Freddie Burns has been transferred from club to country, while fit-again hooker Rob Webber - who impressed in Salta with a polished display both in the tight and loose - has his eye on England's first 2-0 series win in Argentina.

Summer musings: Part I

The domestic season may be over and I may have fled to that famed rugby hot-spot Mallorca in search of some post-season inspiration, but the tireless hack still has to knock out a column or two. So here are a couple of recent efforts: my thoughts on what the Delon Armitage and Brian Moore tete a tete on social media says about the way rugby is reported in these days of the 24/7 Twitter melee, and why Wasps versus Bath will be a particularly spicy morsel on next season's Aviva Premiership menu.

If Tom Croft raced Bryan Habana...

Few flankers know their art more thoroughly than Leicester Tigers' Julian Salvi.  And the Aussie is backing his rangy, rapid backrow colleague Tom Croft to cause mayhem among the Wallabies when the British & Irish Lions head Down Under.
“Tom Croft is a supreme athlete," Salvi told me. "He is a freak of nature who is tough in all areas.
“He will hold the edges really well and if you give him space he can act as another back.
“That style of rugby is great in the Southern Hemisphere because it’s about chucking the ball around.
“With Tom Croft in the team you have a guy who can expose the Australians. The hard tracks are going to be really great for him."
The following clip suggests there is more than a semblance of wisdom in Salvi's words. In fact, geek that I am, I used a stopwatch to time how long it takes Croft to get from the halfway line to dot the ball down against Quins: 5.30 seconds. Welford Road is not the longest pitch in the world, but that is very, very rapid. And Croft doesn't run straight because of the covering defence, and the ground is pretty sludgy too. Which makes his run all the more staggering. On an athletics track on a dry day, he'd surely get close to 10.5 seconds over 100m. Brisk or what?:

It's enough to remind you of that ludicrous moment in rugby PR when Springbok winger Bryan Habana raced a cheetah:

Anyway, enough of cheetahs, what of the Lions?
Salvi, who previously played for the Brumbies in Canberra as well as Australia 'A', says of the Home Nations' prospects: “The Lions have a great opportunity to win the breakdown. The likes of Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric are all capable of disrupting ball. As long as the Lions get the selection right, they will be able to put the pressure on the Aussies."
It's just a shame that Salvi won't be there to compete against the Lions. The Wallabies are missing a trick by not having him in their national set up. Both at Bath and Leicester he's proved himself a superb fetcher and a fine link player; a consistent stand-out player in the Premiership. And wouldn't his inside knowledge of northern hemisphere rugby help the Aussies once Croft and the rest of the Lions roll into town?

Would you take a punt on Gavin Henson?

Rather like Mrs Thatcher, Gavin Henson spectacularly divides opinion. He may never have broken any miners’ strikes, but when on song he has never had a problem in breaking down opposition backlines.

And while the Iron Lady was famously not for turning, the question for every Gav-watcher is whether the former Wales international has managed to perform a sharp U-turn in his off-field behaviour.

On too many occasions over the past decade, Henson has chased the headlines – or perhaps the headline writers have chased him. By throwing himself into reality TV shows, the Welshman has courted tabloid attention and allowed his focus on fulfilling his prodigious rugby talent to waver. And his behaviour at a number of previous clubs has proved that he can be the loosest of cannons.

Speaking after an incident in a nightclub two years ago that necessitated both a suspension and a club inquiry, Mourad Boudjellal, the president of Toulon, probably spoke for a number of rugby bosses when he said: “Henson has had an attitude which has been difficult to manage.”

So confirmation from Bath Rugby this week that they are holding talks with the pin-up boy of Welsh rugby was always going to raise eyebrows – elegantly trimmed or otherwise.

The response was immediate. Former Bath and England prop Gareth Chilcott popped up on the radio talking about Bath needing to impose a ‘zero tolerance’ policy should Henson sign. Under this approach, a clause would be worked into any contract that would allow Bath to ship him out at the first sign of indiscretion.

But before the moral panic sets in, let’s set a few things straight. Beneath all the reality TV performances and the hair products, few would question that Henson possesses a precious rugby gift. Indeed, The Rec has witnessed this in recent times. During Bath’s pre-season match with London Welsh in August, Henson played for a spell at fly-half, delivering a composed performance of elegant distribution.

And during his year at Welsh, there hasn’t been the slightest whiff of him causing trouble or controversy.

Moreover, when he was sacked by the Blues a year ago for an alcohol-related incident on a morning flight home from a game in Glasgow, even some team-mates were prepared to publicly criticise the decision, branding it heavy-handed.

Also, corners can be turned. Look at Harlequins and England scrum-half Danny Care. Eighteen months ago, Care seemed to get in trouble whenever he stepped out of his front door. Now he is keeping his nose clean and in the form of his life.

True, Gavin Henson has led a nomadic existence, and it might be a case of hope triumphing over experience to think that Bath can tame him. But Gary Gold and crew offer a no-nonsense set-up at Bath and are unlikely to brook any ego-propelled silliness. Signing Henson could turn out to be the daftest thing since flanker Mauro Bergamasco played scrum-half for Italy, but it could also turn out to be a masterstroke. Over to you, Gary.