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Page last updated at 06:30 GMT, Friday, 17 September 2010 07:30 UK

Ospreys open to Gavin Henson offers

Gavin Henson targets fly-half switch

The Ospreys have revealed they will listen to offers from clubs interested in signing Wales centre Gavin Henson.

The 28-year-old told Scrum V he wanted to leave the Magners League champions and move to a London club to live nearer his two young children.

Ospreys chief Andrew Hore said: "If there's another club he wants to play for, they can give us a call."

Henson has not played rugby for 18 months after suffering an ankle injury and going on indefinite unpaid leave.

The Welsh double Grand Slam-winner recently suffered a high-profile spilt from his fiancée, entertainer Charlotte Church, who is mother of his two children.

Henson admitted he wanted "time out" from the Ospreys as he rebuilds his life and rugby career once he finishes his commitment with BBC reality TV show Strictly Come Dancing - which could be as late as December.

He fears because he "knows the players so well" they would give him "banter" at a time when he is a "bit raw" because of the troubles in his private life.

Henson insists he would return to the Welsh region - where he has one season remaining on his contract - if his legal advisors claim that is his only option as he targets starring for Wales in the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

But he wants a "fresh start" in London as that is where his children spend much of their time because of Church's career.

Henson has been linked with a move to join Wales assistant coach Shaun Edwards who is coach at London Wasps.

But the English Premiership club released a statement last week insisting they had not signed the 2005 British and Irish Lions star amid claims Henson would be joining the two-time Heineken Cup champions.

And fellow capital clubs Saracens and Harlequins as well as west-country side Bath have ruled out making a move for Henson, who the Ospreys would only let go for a substantial transfer fee.

Premiership clubs are also limited by a salary cap and a player of Henson's potential ability and status would not be cheap.

Ospreys elite performance director Hore told BBC Sport: "We haven't heard from anybody.

"And a number of clubs have said they are pretty much full so before we starting talking about him leaving, there has to be an alternative.

"So if there is a club out there that wants to give us a call, then that's fine and they are more than welcome.

"Then we can sit down with Gavin's representatives and the respective club and see where we get to.

"It has to be discussed and it hasn't been discussed in any great detail one-on-one but there are opportunities for people to speak."

Henson's last game was in March 2009 when he suffered an ankle injury in an EDF Energy Cup defeat to Gloucester - a problem that kept him out of that year's Lions tour to world champions South Africa.

The Ospreys then accepted his request to go on unpaid indefinite leave in August 2009 before his relationship separation was announced in June of this year.

Henson now feels he "needs time away in London" to deal with his issues but Hore wants the player to return to the Liberty Stadium where he has been since the Ospreys were founded back in 2003.

"Some of the players here have been his friend for a long time and grown up with Gav," Hore pointed-out.

"And I think they'd be supportive of him and his situation as he has a lot of friends here and good peers for him to be around."

"He can kick goals, he is extremely talented and is a world-class player. Both Wales and the Ospreys have missed him.

"But the team is bigger than any one individual and Wales needs to have a look at what kind of individuals it wants in its team moving forward.

"Both the Ospreys and the Welsh Rugby Union have a duty of care to the sport as what kind of mentors it wants for young kids.

"And we'd say people that honour their contract, prepared to work hard and ones that are prepared to give back to those who looked after them are the kind of role models we want."

Yet Henson's claim that he would need just "one or two games" to get back into a Welsh team that he feels has "missed him" raised a few eye-brows.

"There are a couple of things that make an elite performer," said Hore.

"One is the ability to see space and read patterns and that is largely innate and Gav has that.

"But whether his body will allow him, is another matter. I still think I can play Test rugby at times but if you have seen my puny little body when I get out there, I'm nowhere near it.

"We don't how he will react when he takes contact in games. He is positive and the mind can overcome the body in a lot of situations but there are a lot unknowns but it can take longer."

Hore insists the Ospreys door is "always open" as they have built their star-studded squad around him.

But Henson was not in their Heineken Cup squad when it was announced on Thursday, but Hore insists Henson could be added should the region progress to the knock-out stage in the new year.



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see also
'Raw' Henson targets London move
16 Sep 10 |  Welsh
London Irish cool Henson interest
19 Sep 10 |  Rugby Union
Johnson takes tough Henson stance
13 Sep 10 |  Welsh
Henson back in Wales rugby shirt
08 Sep 10 |  Welsh
Henson's bid for Strictly success
09 Sep 10 |  Wales
Gavin Henson's value to Wales
23 Feb 10 |  Welsh
Gatland harbours Henson cup hope
02 Sep 10 |  Welsh
Charlotte and Gavin separate
01 Jun 10 |  Showbiz
Henson on indefinite unpaid leave
29 Aug 09 |  Welsh
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Wales rugby results archive
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