Henson slams Woodward & Campbell

'Clive's coaching methods left me a bit bewildered'

Wales star Gavin Henson has criticised Sir Clive Woodward's build-up to the British & Irish Lions' tour of New Zealand, accusing him of poor preparation and out-moded tactics.

The Ospreys playmaker endured a difficult tour as the Lions went down to a crushing 3-0 series whitewash.

The 23-year-old had played a pivotal role as Wales won the Six Nations and had been expected to feature prominently in New Zealand but he was devastated to find himself out in the cold before the first Test.

Henson gave his warts-and-all verdict in his new book 'My Grand Slam Year', which has been serialised in the Mail on Sunday.

"I felt let down because I was led to believe I would start the first Test and I didn't," Henson wrote.

"The way I was taken off in the two games leading up to that decision made me feel even more frustrated.

"I've still got a lot of respect for Clive, for what he achieved with England, but his preparation of the Test team was poor.

"I also felt his tactics and his game-plan were out of date, while I was shocked to see how little actual coaching he does.

"Clive's coaching methods were something new to me and left me a bit bewildered."

Henson also accused the former England coach of wasting valuable time trying to figure out his best team, a negative approach and concentration on what would "lose us the Test series" and claimed his basic game-plan going into the first Test had been wrong.

Henson also revealed that following his omission from the Test squad, quotes to be attributed to him were prepared for the press by the team's media consultant Alastair Campbell.

However, Henson was dumbfounded by what had been written, saying: "I was just stunned, amazed... I thought, this is ridiculous. It doesn't even sound like me. It's not what I would say."

Henson also went on to reveal Campbell had visited the team dressing room after the first Test defeat where he had accused the players of not trying hard enough.

Campbell said some players had failed to "put their bodies on the line" and had not "wanted it enough", claims described by Henson as "unbelievable".

"The idea that in a Lions Test - the pinnacle for any player - people hadn't put their bodies on the line was just insulting," said Henson.

"As a player, you can take that sort of stuff from ex-internationals who have been there themselves.

"You might disagree with them, but at least they can speak from personal experience."