Gavin Henson's move to London Welsh reunites him with the former Ospreys coach Lyn Jones. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA
Gavin Henson has joined London Welsh, less than two weeks after the Exiles won an appeal to play in the Premiership next season, but the club will not reveal the length of the contract agreed for the 30-year-old Lions and Wales centre who will be playing for a fifth employer in less than two years.
Henson was sacked by Cardiff Blues in April following drunken antics on a plane having played for Toulon and Saracens the previous season after Ospreys agreed to release him from his contract a year early.
He was disciplined by Toulon following a clash with team-mates in a nightclub and it is believed that he has agreed a pay-as-you-play deal with London Welsh whose head coach, Lyn Jones, was in charge of Ospreys between 2003 and 2008 when Henson was at the region.
"What's important for Gavin is that he concentrates 100% on his game and learning how to become the best he can possibly be again," said Jones. "I think he can add a great deal to our game and we can also do a lot for him. He has a great talent but over the past three or four seasons he has not realised his full potential for a number of reasons that are well documented.
"I sincerely hope and believe he can now draw a line under that period and move forward again with London Welsh. We all appreciate the skills that he can bring to a game but what team-mates and coaches will be looking for is consistency of that ability. That's the challenge for Gavin, to hold his concentration fully on rugby as he did when he started his career, when rugby was first, second and third on his list of priorities."
Jones was referring to Henson's celebrity lifestyle which has seen him make more appearances on reality television shows and the news pages of papers and magazines than he has on the rugby field and on the sports pages since he took a sabbatical from the game in the summer of 2009.
The 33-cap Henson was not quoted in London Welsh's statement following his signing and he confined himself on Twitter to saying: "I can confirm that I am joining London Welsh." He uses his account to comment on television programmes such as The Bachelor and Big Brother more than rugby.
There was no chance of Henson staying in Wales, even without the financial problems engulfing the four regions there. Newport Gwent Dragons posted a loss of more than ?270,000 last year, swelling their debts to ?2.3m and leaving their auditor believing that "the accounts create a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern."
The Dragons' chief executive, Chris Brown, said the region would survive. "This is a wake-up call and the accounts are disappointing," he went on. "We believe we can generate sufficient funds to break even. I am looking to create a more sustainable future without reliance on benefactors."
The four regions have debts of nearly ?8m between them and have agreed a salary cap of ?3.5m next season. They are in discussions with the Welsh Rugby Union about the way forward for regional rugby with central contracts for the Wales squad looking increasingly likely.
The question is whether all four will survive. The Ospreys faced a winding-up petition by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs last May over an outstanding tax demand, saying they were confident an amicable solution would still be reached.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/09/gavin-henson-signs-london-welsh
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