Rugby story by Fred Smith, Wed, 21 Dec 2005 01:56:00 GMT


Wales center Gavin Henson faces a disciplinary hearing for elbowing Italian Alex Moreno and subsequently breaking his nose in a Heineken Cup match against Leicester on Sunday.

Henson as well as team mate Ian Evans have been hauled up by the Scottish citing commissioner Bill Dunlop yesterday. Ian Evans is charged with kicking Harry Ellis. The Ospreys lost the stormy game 17-15, but a bigger loss could be faced by Henson, since he could be banned from anywhere between four weeks to three months.

If that happens, he could miss the Six Nations Cup. Taking note of this fact, Robert Jones, the former Welsh captain has called on Henson to maintain discipline on the field. "Gavin is a massive personality in rugby circles and he has to be whiter than white to prevent the sort of outcry we are seeing now," he said. "He should know by now he has to keep his nose clean."

The Six Nations kicks off in February and the Welsh fans are now hoping that Henson has not gone too far with that ugly challenge. Meanwhile, Ospreys' team manager Derwyn Jones has said that they had begun preparing the defense of both the players. It has also emerged that Moreno provoked Henson into that challenge, but neither team wants to comment on that. For the moment, all eyes are on Friday when Henson answers the charges in Glasgow.

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