Pressure mounts on Henry
Cardiff
March 17, 2000

As the pressure mounts on Graham Henry the "Great Redeemer" has been labelled in some quarters as "the great schemer". writes Iain Morrison

It seems increasingly difficult to believe that Henry had absolutely no inkling of the fact that neither Brett Sinkinson nor Shane Howarth are properly qualified to play for Wales.

The coaches comment the other day about "not letting race, creed or nationality" get in the way of him picking the best side for Wales will come back to haunt him. However while Henry may have acted dishonourably it beggars belief that someone within the hierarchy of the WRU was not appointed to make even the most cursory of checks into a person's background. Not that anyone who knows the WRU is holding their breath for the heads to roll.

The SRU has their share of imports, some would say more than they should do, but at least their eligibility is checked in a formal way. A story surrounding the birth place of Gordon Simpson's father proved irrelevant when it was pointed out that the Kiwi breakaway traces his Scottish ancestry through his mother's side of the family.

Whether Henry was an innocent dupe or whether he was guilty of greater duplicity the man is undoubtedly guilty of bringing shame upon the heads of the Welsh rugby nation. He will have to be re-named "the great survivor" if he can weather the current storm and see out his contract through the RWC 2003.

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