Alan Good

WHAT do you call a Welsh rugby player with an inferiority complex? Someone who thinks he’s the same as everyone else.

There’s no such danger of this fate befalling Gavin Henson, who this week happily agreed to be the face of launch of the national side’s new kit, on a 100ft-poster — despite having not played the game in 18 months.

And as if that wasn't enough, this came on the same day he revealed to the world he'll be a contestant on the next Strictly Come Dancing. 24 hours earlier, Henson spoke of wanting to be part of Wales' 2011 World Cup squad.

Welsh rugby stories routinely feature the sublime and the ridiculous in equal measure, but it’s difficult to know where to start with this tripe.

Henson has long been marked in the tortured genius category; an immensely gifted if flaky player, with something of the spoilt Premier League footballer about him.

He is currently on unpaid leave from the Ospreys having taken a sabbatical from the game, has seen his engagement to singer Charlotte Church end in acrimony and has now turned his attention to a career in entertainment.

Despite this, Welsh coach Warren Gatland seemingly gave his blessing to the kit launch stunt — the brainchild of kit manufacturers Under Armour — presumably hoping it would nudge Henson towards a return to rugby.

Furthermore, the attention and publicity generated from the story has probably garnered far more exposure than a routine kit launch.

The flipside is that the players themselves can hardly have been too impressed to turn up for the launch and to find out about the Henson stunt 30 minutes beforehand.

Jamie Roberts, Adam Jones and James Hook all subsequently gave measured responses to the media — more raised eyebrows than raised voices — but the private reactions were likelier to be somewhat stronger.

Should Henson return to the game, it will surely be a long time, as previously suggested by Donal Lenihan of this parish, before he is physically or technically ready for top level rugby again.

The signs are that the Welsh players won’t be so welcoming in any case, and wish to get on with it without this distraction.

That is hardly surprising. Henson brings with him a circus of media attention, one that’s hardly due to recent on-field success. One tackle, one kick, both five years ago — what has he achieved since?

Saying thanks but no thanks to the offer to pose in the new shirt would have been the respectful thing for Henson to do, given his current circumstances.

But we could hardly have expected that from a player who accused his 2005 Lions team-mates of loving the sound of their own voices - yet clearly loves the sight of himself.