UNHAPPY HENDING
Ex-Union star Gav up for the challenge but dumped out of Cup on League debut
West Wales Raiders Widnes Vikings 58
4
GAVIN HENSON’S rugby league debut ended with a harsh lesson for 12-man West Wales Raiders, who were dumped out of the Challenge Cup by Widnes.
Henson and fellow highprofile recruit Rangi Chase showed some neat touches in an opening quarter that saw the home side take a shock lead through British Army vehicle mechanic Uraia Naulusala.
But the 19th-minute dismissal of Jamie Murphy for a spear tackle opened the floodgates for the slick Vikings, for whom Steve Tyrer and Jack Owens scored hat-tricks.
Henson, 39, playing at stand-off, missed his only conversion attempt but stuck to his task against a dominant Widnes team.
He said: “I learned a lot, it’s the first time I played the game. I watched it, but there’s nothing quite like playing.
“It’s so relentless, it’s nonstop – I need to get fitter.
“I did all right, I just couldn’t offer much because it was a very tiring game. We’ll take a lot out of it, it was like a training game in the end and the main thing for us is the league, and we’ve got six
weeks before that starts.
“We started well, we were competing with them, finishing our sets, but losing a man killed the game for us.”
Championship Widnes scored 11 tries in all, with Jake Spedding notching a double and Shane Grady, Deon Cross and Adam Lawton also touching down.
The Vikings also had to deal with sin-bins for Danny Craven and Will Tilleke, and a head injury to youngster Callum O’Neill. They face Whitehaven in the next round.