Gavin Henson will miss Wales's clash against world champions South Africa at the Millennium Stadium tomorrow after being ruled out with an Achilles injury. The Ospreys centre, who took only a limited part in training this week, has not played for Wales since last season's Grand Slam-clinching victory over France and now makes way for Cardiff Blues centre Tom Shanklin.
Henson watched from the sidelines as his team-mates went through their final training session at the Millennium Stadium this afternoon. Although attack coach Rob Howley had initially talked up Henson's chances of playing, his withdrawal was confirmed a short while later. Former wing Jamie Roberts, who was due to form a new-look partnership with Henson, moves to inside centre, with Shanklin taking the No13 shirt to win his 55th cap and Henson's Ospreys colleague Andrew Bishop promoted to the bench.
"We wanted to give Gavin the best opportunity to be available to play against South Africa," said Howley. "Gavin decided to tell us he felt, mentally and physically, that he wasn't going to be ready for the game. We feel he is a mature person, and we were comfortable without him training on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon this week. Gavin is a player who has huge respect from the squad, and he is mature enough to make that decision.
"He aggravated the injury against London Irish last Sunday. The players want to be 100%, and Gavin feels he is not 100%. We are very fortunate to be able to bring Tom Shanklin in, and we are looking forward to the combination of Tom and Jamie playing."
Despite the fact that the relatively untested pairing is likely to come up against the formidable Springbok midfield of Adrian Jacobs and Jean de Villiers, Howley was confident that the Blues team-mates would be equal to the challenge. "I don't think we are weakened at all," he said. "Tom was part of our successful Grand Slam campaign, and was one of our best defenders. He will pose different types of questions for South Africa."
It is not known whether Henson, who missed the summer tour of South Africa after undergoing surgery on an ankle problem, will be fit to face Canada next Friday, or for Wales's fixture against the All Blacks on November 22.
