Tuesday 15 July 2014

Gavin Henson, Gethin Jenkins, Michael Owen and Luke Charteris: The all-star ...

A decade after finishing playing rugby among some of the Grand Slam winners and Lions that will be recognised as some of the greats of the game, it still surprises me to see who made it big and who didn’t.


More: Matt Southcombe ‘why I’ll always love rugby’


Gethin Jenkins , for example is a veteran of three Grand Slams and three Lions tours, and has travelled an incredible distance from my youth rugby teammate who enjoyed his food and drink more than most. But his sheer dedication will ensure he’s remembered as a legend.


The man from the Pontypridd Youth class of 1999/00, that I was lucky enough to be part of, that excited everybody was Michael Owen . He was big, strong quick and seemed to have an encyclopedic understanding of the game.           


When he picked up the Grand Slam in 2005, Wales’ first since 1978, it seemed like just the start of what was going to be a magnificent career for the boy from Beddau but sadly injury stopped him from being remembered among the all time greats.


Which great players did YOU play alongside? Share your memories with us on our Wales Rugby Facebook page



The same goes for Gavin Henson , who was the star of our age group. Playing for Pencoed through the junior section he seemed to have a penchant for kicking the ball, which certainly served him well in that 2005 campaign. But he was most well known for doing his hair in the dressing room before matches.


One of my finest hours in rugby came against Henson’s talented Brynteg school team, as my unfancied Cwmcarn High School beat them 13-11 in the Welsh Schools Cup in 1998. Every time Gav got near the ball, a queue of prospective tacklers had formed.


Giant lock Luke Charteris is probably the player I enjoyed playing alongside the most because he was an awesome lineout presence. As a hooker who sometimes struggled to hit my target at the set-piece, I found Charteris almost impossible to miss with his height and athleticism. For all his undoubted skill, it’s unlikely he’ll go down in Welsh rugby folklore.            


A special mention too to the world’s best referee Nigel Owens, who took charge of an 80-0 rout my Caerphilly Schools team suffered in a Dewar Shield semi final against Swansea Schools at St Helens in 1997. He admitted in his World Cup column last week that he once finished a game early with the score at 86-0. Sadly on that day, my teammates and I had to endure the full 80 minutes.


More: Nigel Owens’ World Cup column


The all-star XV that our man played alongside




View gallery












View gallery






   


Gethin Jenkins, Matthew Rees, Rhys Thomas, Josh Jackson, Luke Charteris, Andy Powell, Ryan Jones, Michael Owen


Dwayne Peel, Nicky Robinson, Jonny Vaughton, Gavin Henson, Richard Mustoe, Rhodri Gomer Davies, Ceri Sweeney


*Which great players did YOU play alongside? Share your memories with us on our Wales Rugby Facebook page   



 


Article source: http://sportsbyte.sunderland.ac.uk/?p=41112


Gavin Henson, Gethin Jenkins, Michael Owen and Luke Charteris: The all-star ...

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