Ospreys coach defends Henson omission
by Joseph Caron Dawe, 13 October 2008
Ospreys coach Sean Holley has rejected claims that Gavin Henson’s exclusion from his side’s Heineken Cup defeat at Leicester on Sunday was decisive in the result.
Henson was dropped from the Welsh outfit’s matchday squad after skipping a training session last week, and his kicking prowess was sorely missed at Welford Road.
James Hook missed two penalties from the kind of 40-metre plus range that Henson excels from, and after going down 12-6 it was suggested that the presence of the utility back could have rendered a different result.
That is a hindsight perspective that Holley refused to give credence to however, insisting that the centre pairing of Andrew Bishop and Tommy Bowe worked well in the absence of Henson at 13.
“It isn’t just about one player,” said Holley. “In any environment, you have a set of rules and values. If an employee steps outside of that, he is dealt with accordingly.
“Anyway, I thought our centre partnership was fantastic.
“The case is closed.”
Leicester coach Heyneke Meyer was delighted with his side’s display, in a game which was won by Toby Flood’s four penalties.
“We are an improving side and I am happy with the win at home,” said South African.
“I thought tactically we played very well and, especially in the first half, we had them under pressure and created a couple of scoring opportunities.
“We played some good rugby but they were always in the game and that made it hard in the second half.
“Ospreys are a quality side and, if you give them the opportunity, they will punish you.
“We have to be happy with the victory. You need to win your home games and the team played well.”