Gavin Henson takes to the field for a new club
HE made his name as an international rugby star – but it was a different-shaped ball for Gavin Henson as he turned out for his local football side yesterday morning.
The double Grand Slam winner changed sports to turn out for Sunday League football side Super Fox United in their clash with Cross Keys FC at St Brides Major.
It was revealed in May that Henson is to open a pub in the area, with builders undergoing work on the Fox and Hounds after the 37-year-old bought the freehold for the establishment, which closed last year.
The name Super Fox United, a team which was set up just three weeks ago and made up of a collection of Henson’s friends from the area, is a nod to the pub.
And while St Brides Major Sports Pavilion might be a far cry from the Principality Stadium, there was still a small gathering there on Sunday to watch him try his hand at football.
But it was a rocky start to the season as they fell to a 6-0 defeat.
Super Fox secretary and Henson’s best friend, Jamie Griffiths, told the South Wales Echo: “Gavin misses the competitive life, so he said ‘let’s start up a team, from the ground up’.
“We’re starting at the very bottom, we’re losing to the worst teams in the league, we got a thumping today and a thumping last week, so we don’t think we’re going to take on the world, but it’s a bit of fun and keeps us all focused.”
Among those cheering on Henson in the Bridgend and District Sunday League fixture were his fiancee Katie Wilson Mould, who got engaged to the Pencoed-born star in South Africa last November.
“Gavin isn’t a footballer at all,” Jamie added. “He’s played rugby all his life. He runs around like a headless chicken but, to be fair, he’s a quick learner.
“You would never think he’s never played football. He’s a huge tactician, he does tactical videos before every game, I think he thinks we are playing in the Premier League!
“He’s bought a whiteboard with little markers and sends WhatsApp videos out about how we are all meant to play. Bear in mind some of us are 40 years old – our striker Nick is 60!”
It is as yet unknown whether Henson’s rugby career is over, with fans still uncertain what the future holds
for him after his release by the Dragons earlier this year,
In July, Channel 4 programme Hunted posted images of the Henson on their social media channels asking for sightings of him for the celebrity edition of the show.
Given his upcoming appearance on Hunted and now Sunday’s amateur football outing, Henson does appear to be distancing himself from a professional rugby return.
Jamie, however, insists his friend still believes he can cut it at the top level.
“I don’t want to say he’s retiring at all,” he said, “because I think in his mind he would go to the World Cup. He’s never going to say he’s not playing rugby, he’ll always have a look at it.”
And what type of footballer is Henson?
“He can ping the ball 80 yards – and our pitch is on a massive slope as well,” said Jamie. “Our pitch is pretty much a hill, if we are playing downhill he can ping the ball from the sixyard box to the other six-yard box.
“To be fair, he’s very much like he was in rugby, very unselfish in his play and likes to be a bit of a playmaker. He also likes going box-tobox, tackling, dribbling the ball, he basically does everything. It’s just trying to get him to learn the game.”