Loose Pass

This week we'll be concerning ourselves with the mighty fallen, England and true colours…

This week we will mostly be concerning ourselves with the mighty fallen, England and true colours…

It had been a relatively quiet week in the rugby world, bar a weekend of frequently mesmerising action on-screen. From the brilliance of the Cheetahs and Highlanders in New Zealand, through Harlequins' efforts on Saturday to Perpignan's cut loose against Bayonne, the Stormers squeaking past the Bulls and Wasps' last-gasp win over Gloucester on Sunday. Everybody did their talking with their hands and boots.

Then Gavin Henson got on a plane on Saturday at 7am having barely been to bed the night before, and that all went horribly wrong.

This is probably the end for Henson, with whom even the Welsh fans, ever keen to celebrate their rough diamonds, lost patience long ago. Having walked out on Saracens after being paid a fair bit to be injured a lot, having blotted his copybook even at France's 'law unto itself' club Toulon, he's now dragged not only Cardiff Blues' name but also that of the game of rugby generally through the mud.

There is a clear alcohol problem here, which considering he is now past 30 and still every bit as prone to injury as he was at his peak, is likely to mean nobody will touch him with a cocktail stirrer once the Blues have poured him away. Zac Guildford gets chances on account of youth and potential, Henson's had his; chances, youth and potential, Henson's had and wasted them all.

He's been a victim of bad advice through his career. Whichever publicist thought releasing an autobiography barely halfway through his career would be a good idea for Henson ought to be sent back to PR school. Reality TV shows in spangly uniforms, high-profile marriages and splits, multiple other distractions from actually concentrating on the game and training… no, no, no. Those surrounding him have not done a good job either.

But it ought now to be pretty clear that Henson himself is uncontrollable, that he needs some help well away from a public sphere and to find a perspective on life that is a little more sober, otherwise his is a story with the potential to end spectacularly badly.

Congratulations to Stuart Lancaster were forthcoming from all angles this week, including our offices where we feel the right choice has probably been made for England in the wake of a successful Six Nations.

But the most interesting reaction was from Ben Cohen, probably the only dissenting voice among the rabble, who made sure Lancaster knew the tide of goodwill could turn soon and turn fast if progress did not continue to be made.

“Nick Mallett has got credentials coming out of his ears, he has got a great CV. And Wayne Smith. They are people who know how to react in tough times,” said Cohen.

“Let's be frank, you look at the Six Nations as a honeymoon period and there are testing times to come ahead.

It's a good point well-made. It's quite important for Lancaster that the RFU make sure he has a deeply experienced mentor at his disposal – Mallett is still available, but we'd also be surprised if Sir Clive Woodward is not ushered into the background somewhere.

It's clear the RFU have managed to locate a real local coaching talent with huge international-level potential. Developing and advising that talent correctly over the next couple of years will be every bit as important as making sure the academy programs making young players for the future are running well.

The Bulls in pink? Yes really.

God it was horrible Рwith the exception of Stade Fran̤ais' occasional efforts, such as that baby-pooh brown effort they once sported for the Heineken Cup Рthe kit has to be comfortably the worst abomination ever inflicted upon the casual spectator.

But why? Stade played in pink as a part of a club drive based around the identity of gay Paris. Other clubs have done so in aid of breast cancer.

But the Bulls? One of the world's most conservative and male-dominated places? Bright, neon, keep-the-ships-off-the-rocks pink? Can't find many good reasons there

Here's the official line: “the away shirt, as with the home shirt launched in December 2011, has a dramatic “smash” design inspired by the phrase “bull in a china shop” and expresses the Bulls' powerful playing style.

“The complexity of the design, which combines a chevron-like effect, is designed to distract opposition players.

“In designing the new away shirt Puma wanted to create a statement on the field, so we have opted for a striking colourway inspired by the purple Jacaranda trees that are synonymous with Pretoria.”

So there you go. Perfectly understandable reasons. Nothing to do with the need to create something vivid and different in order to make mints of money on selling replicas. Nothing at all.

Loose pass compiled by Richard Anderson