Woodward (left) and Henson were all smiles before the first Test
Gavin Henson has criticised Sir Clive Woodward's coaching abilities in the build-up to the British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand in the summer.
The centre was expected to star in the series after playing a pivotal role in Wales' Six Nations Grand Slam triumph.
But he was left out of the first Test and the Lions were whitewashed 3-0.
"I've still got a lot of respect for Clive but his preparation of the Test team was poor," said Henson in the Mail on Sunday's serialisation of his book.
"I felt let down because I was led to believe I would start the first Test and I didn't and the way I was taken off in the two games leading up to that decision made me feel even more frustrated.
"I also felt his tactics and his game plan were out of date, while I was shocked to see how little actual coaching he does - his methods were something new to me and left me a bit bewildered."
Henson claimed Woodward's basic game plan going into the first Test had been wrong.
And he also accused the former England coach of wasting valuable time trying to figure out his best team, a negative approach and concentrating on what would "lose us the Test series" in his book 'My Grand Slam Year'.
There were 2 full pages in "The Mail On Sunday" who are doing a weekly on Hensons book. It actually reads better than the BBC piece above and goes into Woodworms lack of coaching and continual talking of what would loose them the series and not how to win it. I would not knock Henson too much on this it probably is a fair reflection of why the Lions tour was a shambles
“That made me feel very special and underlined to me that Ulster is more than a team, it is a community and a rugby family" Rory Best
what pishes me off is that the media are playing to his tune and the way the BBC reported this it was as if the whitewash was down to the fact that henson wasn't picked for the first test reputation built on the fact that he had that one decent game against england otherwise nothing spectacular.
If Henson has decided to lay into his team mates in addition to Woodward, as this article implies, he really is a silly little boy.
As for Sir Clive, I'm reminded of the story of the unnamed senior England player who credited the responsibility for winning the World Cup as 90% down to the players and 10% to the management (and indicated he was being generous to the management).
Back, Hill, Dallaglio, Johnson and Wilkinson won the world cup for England. Clive got them flown there in first class and wearing skin tight jerseys but it was the men on the field who won it. Time for at least the some of the SCW myth to be put to bed once and for all.
Robinson criticises Henson, more for speaking out than what he said.
BO'D has been reported both agreeing with and criticisng Henson - probably more for getting his book out earlier
reputation built on the fact that he had that one decent game against england otherwise nothing spectacular.
