The 27-year-old is currently training with Wales ahead of the Nations Championship
Back in December, having played less than 300 minutes of rugby in the previous 18 months, Rhys Henry was fairly honest – if a little self-deprecating – about his efforts in rugby.
The 27-year-old admitted, perhaps a little harshly, it had been “a bit of a stagnant career to date with injuries”, as he prepared to make his 50th appearance for the club. He added he’d “dreamed of playing one game for the Ospreys”, let alone a half-century for the club.
At that stage, even Henry would admit a Wales call-up wasn’t really on his radar.
“Playing for Wales is an aspiration of any young player,” he said. “I’m no different, but the way the last couple of years has gone in terms of injuries, I’m more focused on just trying to put a run of games together for the Ospreys and contributing as positively as I can.
“And if it was to come round, brilliant, but my sole focus at the minute is just playing well for the Ospreys.”
Now, if things go well in the coming days and weeks, there’s every chance that call-up could soon come his way.
Henry has been brought into Wales camp to train with Steve Tandy’s side, as the head coach wants a closer look at the former U20s tighthead.
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It’s understood it was always the plan to bring Henry in so Wales’ coaches could see him, given how injuries and niggles have affected him in recent years.
Henry has been a part of the alignment camps this year, meaning he will be aware of game models and other things you can pick up in the classroom.
But having him present at the Vale now means you can see what Henry offers on the pitch.
That could well pave the way for a call-up sometime soon, with Henry now having his foot in the door.
Yet it might come sooner than even he would expect, given the news that Keiron Assiratti is likely to miss out on this summer through injury.
The Cardiff prop would almost certainly have been Wales’ first-choice next month, given Tomas Francis is rested and Archie Griffin is out injured.
However, if he’s missing, that leaves Dillon Lewis, Sam Wainwright and Ben Warren as the tighthead options in Tandy’s squad.
Henry, while training at the minute, hasn’t been called up – although that could easily change if he impresses.
After all, it’s a position that Wales are in desperate need of depth. That’s highlighted by giving Francis the summer off, such is the need to get him through to next year’s World Cup.
Whether Henry can help provide that depth remains to be seen, but he’s a prop that is just as useful around the park as he is at the set-piece.
“I’d like to think that my my scrummaging is going in the right direction,” he said earlier in the campaign. “We’re trying to play a brand of rugby which gets hands on ball, which is something I enjoy, something I see as a strength of my game.
“Hopefully I can just keep going in the right trajectory.”
That isn’t to say he’s a ball-handler first and a scrummager second.
Under Toby Booth, Henry played a crucial role off the bench as the Ospreys beat Leicester at Welford Road in the Champions Cup.
Having earned penalty after penalty late on in the match, he then led the team in a rendition of Jailhouse Rock in the sheds afterwards.
If that alone didn’t reveal his popularity with his team-mates, then the face masks adorned by his team-mates after his 50th outing for the club last year are another indicator.
Working with Duncan Jones, who is in the mix to be Wales’ next scrum coach, has only helped Henry’s game.
“He’s very good,” said Henry back in December. “I’ve been obviously fortunate to work with him from college through till now, so he knows me very well, I know him very well.
“We can have open and honest conversations about where I’m at and what I need to improve on. It’s been nice to have him around through the whole process, coming from college and academy into seniors.
“I think conversations I’ve had with Mark (Jones) and Duncan over the past couple of months, they’ve instilled confidence in me and where my game can go to
“I know I’ve got the backing of them when called upon, and um, you know, it gives me more of a boost when I do play.”
That confidence might just have taken him from stagnation to the brink of a Wales call-up.
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