Blues end 2010 with a win despite the Ospreys taking flight in the second half

Last weekend the talk might have been about the return of one Welsh centre, but today at the Cardiff City Stadium, Jamie Roberts made his first start for the Blues since wrist surgery and helped his side to a shaky 27-25 over the Ospreys.

Roberts' return to the starting 15 was a quite one, but he did show some strong running and a solid defence which optimised his region's performance.

The 19-3 first half advantage Dai Young’s side took in at the break proved to be the difference as the Ospreys hit back in the second period, led by substitute Mike Philips and winger Richard Fussell, to set up a tense finish in the Welsh capital.

On a night where fireworks will light up the night skies across the country, there was very little spark in the first half. Dan Parks, who is often criticised for not showing attacking impetus was the difference between the sides as Cardiff capitalised on almost every visit in and around the Ospreys 22-metre; while their opponents tried to recreate some of the magic which saw them demoralise the Scarlets earlier in the week.

Gavin Henson waltzes back into professional rugby at Wembley

With the fake tan still very much evident, Gavin Henson made his Premiership and Saracens debut today against Wasps at Wembley.

His long awaited return to the pitch came after 51-minutes, replacing Michael Tagicakibau at outside centre and immediately made an impact. He was so close to making a dream start, going over the line having been on the pitch for just two minutes and with his first touch of the ball. But scrum-half Joe Simpson was carried over with Henson, wrapped around the Welshman like Katya Virshilas has been since September.

A debut try could have seen his new side home and dry at 15-0 with an easy conversion to come, but the incident inspired Wasps, not the North Londoners, as they came came back with two penalties to bring themselves to within a score.

Saracens, however, did enough and held the six-time English champions at bay winning 13-6.

With the exception of the initial flurry of excitement Henson had a quiet game. This is to be expected for a man 18-months out of rugby, but you couldn’t have put a hat-trick topped with a 50-meter penalty to win the game à-la Wales versus England,2005, past him.

Henson expects to be back in the international fold come February and the Six Nations, while he also expects to play at fly-half as his very frank interview on Scrum V earlier in the year suggested.

To achieve the latter, he needs to overcome the very impressive Owen Farrell who has deputised at Saracens after Derick Hougaard put himself out for the season. The rookie has performed impeccably, but whether because the game was at Wembley, the pressure of Henson or the fact that against Wasps he came up against a wily, international class openside flanker in Serge Betsen, Farrell junior did look slightly out of his depth on this occasion.

With some more training under his belt, Henson probably will step in, and amongst the group of young English prospects and South African exiles looking to prove a point, Henson could excel.

He was reserved after the game, saying he hopes to start in the next week or two at 10 or 12, and only then can he think about a return to the red shirt of Wales.

To reach the form required, other Saracens like Schalk Brits could be exactly the sort of player to help their new Welsh team-mate thrive. The hooker’s strong running could work beautifully off the shoulder of Henson’s passing or his own line breaks.

His return within the ranks of the current Welsh set-up may be greeted with mixed emotions, but for rugby fans and spectators Gavin Henson brings sparks of magic to light up pitches, fill stadiums and create incredible match winning moments.

Jacobs and Wasps sting Irish's title ambitions

London Irish began their trio of season defining matches with a 33-25 defeat against Wasps at High Wycombe in a sensational game of rugby.

Adams Park remained a bogey ground for the Exiles as their run there extended to just one win in ten. Both sides welcomed back a number of regulars who were rested during the LV-Cup ties and others deemed not necessary for their international squads to add extra spice to the occasion.

A frenetic start saw high intensity running, and both teams won kickable penalties in the first five minutes. Ryan Lamb - who has had a superb start to the season - pushed his from the touchline wide, while opposite number, Dave Walder, made no mistake from just inside the Irish half.

One of the players released from Martin Johnson’s squad earlier in the week, Tim Payne, was punished twice in quick succession at the scrum, gifting Lamb the opportunity to level the scores. Irish continued to play with power at speed, but married with the dexterity, calmness and accuracy of their in-form stand-off’s kicking from hand.

But it was Wasps who scored the opening try after a quick-witted 22-drop out from Walder put them on the attack against a disorganised Irish defence. Good hands from the home side unleashed Tom Varndell, and quick recycling from England hopeful Joe Simpson led to Simon Kefu cutting a line before feeding centre partner Ben Jacobs, who carried three defenders over the line to score.

The man who started it all knocked over the conversion to make it 10-3.

Simpson, with his seemingly trademark socks around his ankles, was constantly buzzing around the base of the breakdown. His incredible turn of pace and rapid service gave Wasps fantastic opportunities in attack, and while all the talk has been about Ben Youngz in England’s number nine shirt – the 22-year old who has been so unfortunate with injuries, will be ready to step up if and when called upon.

Irish quickly retaliated, but in comparison to the pace of Simpson and the game up until the 28th minute, the try was made with brute strength. Chris Hala’ufia swatted three Wasps defenders off the back of a scrum with his right hand to pop to the supporting Paul Hodgson who ran in from 25-meters to bring his side back to within two points - Lamb failing with another touchline kick.

A penalty each left the score 15-13 at half-time, but the home side were down to 14-men after Payne saw yellow for a number of needless penalties.

Irish took full advantage of their extra man straight from the kick off, as positive play took them from 22 to 22, where Lamb put another deft chip through causing chaos in the Wasps defence. The ball popped up to Dean Bowden to dab under the posts – though there was more than a sniff of a forward pass in the build up – and Lamb easily converted.

Walder retaliated instantly with his fourth kick from five, but the second half didn’t get going until the 60th minute.

The Exiles spurned two opportunities just meters from the Wasps line in quick succession as Nick Kennedy was turned over when an extra pass would have seen Topsy Ojo cross the whitewash, and then Steffon Armitage left his rival England openside flanker - Tom Rees - for dead, only to knock it forward under pressure from the covering tackle.

The Exiles were dominant in this period and a score could have buried their hosts. But from nothing, Wasps turned the game on its head.

From a scrum on the half way line, man-of-the-match Jacobs ghosted through the opposition defence, feeding Joe Worsley. Quick ball again from the breakdown left the home side with a huge overlap, allowing Kefu to stroll over. Walder added the extras to put his side back in the lead 23-18 and they never looked back.

Worsley did what his team mates couldn’t earlier and smashed Hala’ufia on the Wasps 10-meter line, where his back row partner and captain Rees turned the ball over to launch an instinctive counter attack. Varndell was given the ball in space and there was no stopping the flying wing. The conversion stretched Wasps’ lead to 12-points with just five minutes remaining.

Irish thought they had secured at least a losing bonus point when substitute prop Paulica Ion went over with 90-seconds remaining, but Wasps, who finally won a penalty against the Irish scrum, kicked three points to ensure a 33-25 win, and an empty handed return trip down the M40 for Toby Booth’s men.