So Welsh rugby player Gavin Henson has been busy denying that he was contacted by the Barbarians Rugby Football Club and asked to play in their match against South Africa later this year.  Gavin’s a little too big of a rugby star, in his own mind, to play for the Baa-Baas and has decided that he would better serve the rugby community if he spent his time in heavy training… to be a dancer.  

That’s right, Gavin Henson is too busy “Dancing with the Stars” to train with the Barbarians, or at least the British version of this abomination of a show.

I’ve been impressed with Gavin’s responses to the Barbarians, which included:

• The Barbarians were just using his name to build interest in the team and the match with the Springboks (Heads up Sparky, you’re in no way bigger than the Barbarians… sorry to burst your ego bubble)
• Henson really wants to get back to playing rugby, but darn it he just has to finish his contractual obligations to this wee dancing show.

Henson, who has not played internationally since 2009 (here’s a hint Gavin, it’s almost 2011), caused a little bit of a stir earlier this year when he was selected as the model for the Wales National Team’s advertising campaign, despite not setting foot on a rugby pitch since March of ’09.

My take on this, in case you haven’t been able to tell yet, is that this is ridiculous. When a rugby player is asked to play for the Barbarians, it’s an honor that you should only reject when something really important happens to you – such as your head falling off your shoulders.

For someone who’s biggest accomplishment so far is having been engaged to Charlotte Church to reject this honor (if it was even offered to him, I wonder if Gavin has put this out there first to somehow keep his name in the news) and tut-tut the Barbarians for “using his name” is just one more sign of this guy’s inflated ego.

Congratulations Gavin Henson!  To paraphrase comedian Christopher Titus, please take out your rugby player card and pass it to the front of the class, ‘cause you’re dismissed.