What happened to Mathew Tait, the England star infamously dumped by Gavin Henson
As far as international debuts go, it wouldn't be unfair to say Mathew Tait's was a bit of a nightmare.
Twenty years ago today, the England utility back was thrown into the Test arena at just 18 years of age, as head coach Andy Robinson gave him his first taste of international rugby by naming him to start at outside centre against Wales in Cardiff.
It was a baptism of fire for Tait, who came into the match as the big new hope of English rugby but left the field with his tail between his legs, having been shown up in front of a crowd of 74,000 people with millions more watching at home.
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That day saw Wales clinch an unforgettable 11-9 win over their biggest rivals, their first home victory over England for 12 years. In a tight contest, Shane Williams scored the only try of the game but Gavin Henson proved the hero as he drilled over a difficult 44-metre penalty from near the touchline with just four minutes left on the clock to seal the win - and set Wales on their way to a famous Grand Slam triumph.
That kick has become an iconic moment in Welsh rugby history, due in part to the late Eddie Butler's inspired line of 'shave away Gavin, shave away' on commentary as the ball sailed between the posts. But ask many fans about that day, and it may not even be their most memorable moment involving Henson, who was rightly named man of the match after a 'majestic' display.
The game was not even 30 seconds old when the Welsh centre signalled his intentions with a huge hit on Mark Cueto, but Henson would soon turn his attention to Tait as he put the teenager through a torturous debut. No sooner had Tait had his first touch of the ball in international rugby, Henson stopped him firmly in his tracks before lifting him off the floor and driving him backwards to cheers from the home crowd.
It would not get easier for Tait in the second half, either, as he fell victim to what is perhaps the most iconic tackle in the history of the Six Nations - with Henson again the enforcer. As his side launched an attack just outside the Welsh 22, the English centre ran onto a pass from Josh Lewsey and then straight into Henson - with the Wales star lifting Tait horizontal and driving him backwards while carrying him under one arm.
The huge hit not only inspired Wales to victory on the day, but arguably helped to change the course of Welsh rugby history, while it was certainly one of, if not the, defining moment of Henson's career. The centre was already the golden boy of Welsh rugby but soon became a tabloid celebrity too, with photos of the tackle soon popping up everywhere and even inspiring a whole series of jokes.
"What is the best-dressed Welshman carrying as an accessory these days?", went one gag. "Mathew Tait".
One person who certainly wasn't laughing at the punchline, however, was the man himself. Having been given a torrid time by Henson and failed to make an impact in either attack or defence, Tait's debut ended shortly after he was hit by that second tackle, with the teenager then dropped for the rest of the Six Nations.
He wouldn't break his silence on the experience for over a year, but finally opened up on his debut and the fallout that followed as he admitted to feeling "low" in the aftermath of his traumatic initiation, with fans even asking him to sign photos of the Henson tackle.
"To be honest, I don't really recall much about those infamous tackles," he told the Western Mail the following year. "Seeing the pictures afterwards and being asked to sign a few of them is always a little bit awkward.
"I don't think as much would have been made of the whole situation if it hadn't been for the fact that Gavin had gone on to kick the winning penalty and that he'd picked me up twice.
"It was just a bit of a shock, probably naivety on my part, about how big a deal was going to be made of it all," Tait added. "It's just something you look back on now and accept. Gavin has smashed bigger and better players than me, Tana Umaga being one of them. It's just one of those things."
"I did get a little bit low afterwards," he then admitted. "You build yourself up and then to have it not go as planned or as well as you had hoped is always a bit of a disconcerting thing and my confidence did suffer a little bit after that.
"But now, looking back on it, I can look back with a smile and just appreciate the experience and how much I have learned from it - and it's made me a stronger player, I think.
"It's made me learn to handle the media a little bit better and it's also made me realise that you have to be at the top of your game to be involved in a match like that. I maybe dwelled on it a little bit afterwards, but, just because that happened, it doesn't make me a bad player a year on."
Tait would not play again for England until the following summer, but during his absence from the Test squad, regularly represented the nation's rugby sevens team. He even starred at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, scoring nine tries to finish as the tournament's top try-scorer and help England to a silver medal.
He made his return to Test duty in a heavy 34-3 loss to Australia in Sydney, but then became a regular in the squad, scoring his first try against Wales in a Rugby World Cup warm-up match in 2007. Tait was then named as the youngest player in England's World Cup squad and featured throughout the tournament, starting in the final against South Africa.
His performances at the World Cup saw him again hailed as the "future of English rugby", and he would go on to win a total of 36 caps for his country, scoring five tries. However, he missed out on selection for the 2011 tournament due to injury.
At club level, Tait made a total of 280 appearances in spells with Newcastle Falcons, Sale Sharks and Leicester Tigers over a 14-year-period. Over half of those came with the Tigers, with whom he won a Premiership title and an Anglo-Welsh Cup, and he called time on his career at Welford Road in 2018 after failing to recover from an Achilles injury.
"It isn't how I planned to finish up, this ongoing problem with my Achilles has caught up with me and, on the advice of people much more in the know than me, it's the right time to call it quits," he told the Leicester website at the time. "I've been so fortunate to achieve many things in the game and it's hard to pinpoint one highlight, let alone a few, but obviously being able to win the Premiership with Tigers stands out, as well representing my country and, of course, playing in a World Cup Final.
"I owe a lot to a lot of people who have made it possible for me to live out my dream and I thank every one of those people who have played a role from my school days, through Newcastle and Sale, England and, of course, here at Tigers."
These days, Tait has gone back to the seven-a-side game and works as general manager and festival director of Emirates Dubai 7s, having won the tournament as a player back in 2004.
