Gavin Henson could be Wales’ goalkicker at World Cup, says John Kear
Wales coach John Kear says Gavin Henson could kick the goals for his side in the World Cup – but he must perform well at club level to earn selection first of all.
The former Wales and Lions fly-half has switched codes, signing for League 1 club West Wales Raiders, and will be considered for the end-of-year World Cup, to be held in England.
Kear said: “When you speak to the Welsh players, it’s amazing how much they hold him in high esteem.
“He obviously was a great and, should he be able to come somewhere near that, he would obviously have to come under consideration.
“One of our problems in recent years is goalkicking but, if he is playing, he wouldn’t miss many goals so he would certainly solve one of our problems.
READ: Gavin Henson enjoying physicality of rugby league after crossing codes
“We’ve some exciting players within the Wales structure, some established internationals and we’re flying the flag for people like Bradman Best and Caleb Aekins in the NRL so I think we can put a real competitive team together.
“But, if Gavin Henson is playing well enough to warrant a place in the squad, why not pick him? It certainly wouldn’t do us any harm. It would do a lot of good media wise.”
The 19-year-old Best, who qualifies for Wales through his grandparents, enjoyed a fairytale first full season in the NRL with Newcastle Knights in 2020 and would represent a major coup, with Kear believing he is good enough to play for Australia.
READ: Bradman Best could represent Wales at World Cup
Kear said: “Our manager is speaking to Bradman every fortnight – it’s Bradman’s mum he is speaking with most of the time and she is very keen for Bradman to play and he obviously is.
“If he has a stellar season, like he had last year, he might be wearing green and gold (of Australia).
“So I’m hoping he doesn’t play quite well enough to get a green and gold shirt because he’ll certainly be welcome in a red shirt of Wales.”
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