It's really hard to engage with any argument that boils down to 'but others are worse'. An Irish rugby player waded into the stands and lamped a fan, doesn't mean an Irishman couldn't comment on similar matters without having to list, apologise and give three hail marys for all their compatriot's misdemeanours.
But that's not the argument that's being made, is it? My point is simple: why single out Henson for a relatively minor misdemeanour when there are plenty of examples of far worse behaviour far closer to home, which are conveniently ignored. The fact that this non-news story has been turned into a thread by that staunch internationalist, DaRealSpoon, says far more about attitudes towards Henson than it does about the importance of the incident. My point is that you're blindly aping tabloid froth, which is lazy and pointless.
Nevertheless, I'll try. The lads accused of rape were, in my humble opinion, shown to be guilty of nothing of the sort
Wrong. The girl refused to press charges because she didn't want her name dragged through the mud. She made her position clear in her press statement, and as far as I know, did not attempt to make capital from the incident. As far as I'm concerned they may have done it as equally as they may not have.
Tindall was stupid and has been condemned by a court and banned from driving.
And roundly condemned on these boards of course, oh yes!
He missed how many matches for being a twat, so what if he was unhappy with a regime. It happens. He's supposed to be a professional, in that respect he failed.
No, Mattie. Jenkins failed. His hatred for Henson was plain for all to see, and his failure as a coach was even clearer. Henson questioned Jenkins' training regime, which in retrospect was fair enough, because Jenkins' training regime was a joke and a farce that ushered in one of the most embarrassing periods of rugby that Wales has ever had. It is precisely because of his professionalism that he challenged the coach, because he felt that Jenkins did not match that professionalism. History, you would say, has exonerated him.
You'd think he'd try to be squeaky clean, what the hell is he doing kicking off in a pub? You think Doug Howlett would be doing that after he got a rollicking for trashing cars? His whole demeanour is troubling, he fucks off rugby correspondents because he's worried it'll screw his exclusivity contract with hello. I despair.
So let me get this right. You reckon that Henson is the epitome of all that's wrong with rugby because he got rowdy in a pub, had some friends who got rowdy on a train, and because he doesn't dance to the tune of the sports media? Jesus Christ, I would have hoped that you'd apply the same rigourous standards to all players, but it's evident that you don't.
The comparison to JW is facile. He's never missed a game for anything other than injury, of which he's had far, far too many.
Sorry mate, but it's a fair point. Nobody questions JW when he's injured, and that's fair enough. Those who question Henson when he is are simply aping tabloid generated bullshit with no foundation in fact. Do you really think that two hard, success orientated bastards like Gatland and Edwards would really give leeway to a player because he 'didn't feel like playing' or because he was psychologically flakey? No, I didn't think so. Henson doesn't play when injured because he's, errrr, injured.
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