Wales are already without their two leading second-rows for the Six Nations and they will fly to their training camp in Poland next week with Matthew Rees, their captain in last season's tournament, struggling with a shoulder injury.
Rees, who missed the World Cup because he needed a neck operation and has since lost the captaincy to Sam Warburton, on Friday pulled out of the Scarlets side that will take on Castres in France on Saturday night. Rees is vying with Huw Bennett for the hooker's jersey in the opening Six Nations match against Ireland in Dublin. His leadership credentials are seen as crucial with the Wales head coach, Warren Gatland, looking to develop players for the 2015 World Cup.
Gavin Henson was recalled to the Wales squad this week despite playing only three matches for Cardiff Blues this season, but the centre has not made the match-day squad forSunday's crucial group match against Racing Métro at the Cardiff City Stadium. A bonus-point victory would take the Blues into the quarter-finals but Henson, who played in the centre against London Irish last weekend, has been dropped for Gavin Evans. Jamie Roberts is still sidelined by a knee injury.
The Blues gave no reason for Henson's demotion, but the coach, Gareth Baber, hinted at an explanation when he said: "Our first thoughts are to keep our focus and develop a winning mentality. We need to get the win and see where we are at the end of it. We are fortunate to have quality players within this group who are able to adapt to the situation in the game and make it count."
The Blues, who beat Racing in Paris in the opening round of group matches, consider Evans's work-rate is higher than Henson's and place a higher premium on that than Henson's ability to create space and get the ball wide.
Leicester face Aironi in the Heineken Cup and no matter how many tries they run in against the pool's easy beats, they would only have a chance of making the last eight of the Amlin Challenge Cup if Clermont Auvergne lost at home to Ulster. The Tigers are among the clubs interested in the Worcester wing Miles Benjamin and they are set to lose their Samoa wing Alesana Tuilagi at the end of the season. He is believed to be considering an offer to play in Japan after eight seasons at Welford Road. The Leicester second-row George Skivington is another player considering a move. He is out of contract at the end of the season and has been linked with London Irish.
