Henson eyeing perfect 10

Gavin Henson is aiming for a “10 out of 10” performance in Wales’ Grand Slam showdown with France at the Millennium Stadium this weekend.

Henson, one of his country’s unsung heroes in this year’s tournament, boasts a remarkable record of winning every RBS 6 Nations match he has started.

If that run continues on Saturday then Henson will have played a central role in 10 straight championship victories and Grand Slam triumphs in both 2005 and 2008.

“I am aware of that record,” he said.

“I didn’t really want anyone to know until the end of the campaign but people seem to have picked up on it.

“I hope to make it 10 out of 10 this weekend. It has been a great campaign so far. There is one more to go and we all hope we can do it.

“It is great to be involved. There is a great feeling in the camp and confidence is really high.”

It seems extraordinary but until Warren Gatland took charge, Henson had not started a Six Nations match for Wales since the 2005 Grand Slam.

The golden boy’s gleaming reputation had become tarnished, first by his own misguided hand and then by a combination of misfortune and coaching foibles.

After the 2005 triumph, Henson lost the trust of some Wales team-mates when he published a brutally honest account of the season.

He had failed to shine on the Lions tour of New Zealand and then a series of injuries kept him short of regular top-level rugby until this season.

In addition, Henson never found favour with previous Wales head coach Gareth Jenkins, who initially wanted him to play at full-back before dropping him from the World Cup reckoning due to a lack of fitness.

That was the nadir for Henson, who had also missed out on selection for the 2003 World Cup. The sore is not yet healed.

“I haven’t been involved that much in the last couple of years. I feel I should have had a lot more caps,” Henson said diplomatically.

“I am just trying to take my chance and stay in there. I am not coming to the end of my career and I just want to get as many caps as I can.”

The arrival of Gatland, a confirmed fan of Henson’s talents at inside centre, offered the player another fresh start.

Gatland has told him he has the potential to become the best in his position in world rugby.

Henson said: “It is a nice hurdle to get over if a coach comes in and speaks highly of you.

“You know you have a good chance of being involved then. And if he has that faith in you, you don’t want to let him down.

“It has been refreshing having a new coaching team with ideas and techniques. I am learning at every training session and it is at an intensity I have never trained before.

“That has given us a mental toughness and it showed in the last five minutes against Ireland when we killed off the game.

“As an international player, you want to be the best in the world in your position. If I can stay part of this then hopefully I can get to those heights.

“To prove I can be the best, I need to go to the World Cup and do it on the world stage. I haven’t done that yet so that is how far off I am.”

After returning to the Wales side for the one-off Test against South Africa in November, Henson spoke of how fatherhood had changed his approach to rugby.

And his own team-mates see a new maturity in his rugby, which has been so key to Wales’ unbeaten championship so far.

Henson’s centre partner Tom Shanklin said: “He hasn’t really been hitting the headlines too much but the way he has been playing has been fantastic.

“He would much rather create something than score himself and he has been trucking the ball up a lot too.

“Since 2005, he has matured as a player. He has always been a fantastic trainer but with the analysing he does now he just seems a highly motivated player.”

Henson’s all-round game was magnificent in Dublin but he produced two huge moments which went a long way to helping Wales tee up their Grand Slam shot.

The first was a giant 70-metre kick to touch which put Ireland deep in their own territory and kept the pressure off Wales, who were a man short after Mike Phillips was sin-binned.

The second was a bone-shuddering tackle on Ireland’s powerful winger Shane Horgan.

“He lined him right up – and that kind of tackle always lifts the team,” said Shanklin.

Wales will need more of the same on Saturday against a physical French side who could claim the Six Nations title themselves if they win by 20 points or more.

“It will be one hell of a match,” said Henson.

“There is going to be a high ball-in-play time and the boys’ lungs will be struggling this weekend.

“It will be a test against France as they are good athletes but we are a fit team. We are much fitter than any other team and we have proved that.”