The Ospreys, favoured by many to be in contention at the business end of the Heineken Cup, sent out the firmest of messages yesterday. They dropped Gavin Henson for two matches for “rugby-related internal disciplinary” reasons, which suggests they are no longer content to mess around the European fringes and that they wish to be taken seriously.

Some time after the ban was announced yesterday, Henson said that he supported the action. “Having received feedback from management as part of a review of the last home game, I reacted poorly and additionally took unauthorised leave to consider the matters raised,” he said. “I fully accept this decision.”

When their team to play Leicester in pool three of the Heineken Cup at Welford Road tomorrow was confirmed, Henson’s No 12 jersey went to Andrew Bishop. Given that Sonny Parker, the other international centre, is recovering from pulled chest muscles, this is a self-inflicted wound the Welsh region could have done without, never mind the impact it may have on selection for Wales.

The ban matches with the nononsense credo of Andrew Hore, the New Zealander who was Wales’s conditioning coach, returned home in 2005 but came back to the Ospreys in spring this year as elite performance director. His initial review of the region brought Lyn Jones’s term as head coach to a close and he has imposed a strict code of conduct.

Henson, whose fall from grace comes in the same week Danny Cipriani found himself in the wrong section of the newspapers after a training- ground spat, made only his first start of the season for the Ospreys last weekend against Harlequins after recovering from ankle surgery, but Wales must have hoped for a gradual build-up by the player before their November internationals. Now he misses not only Leicester but the home game with Perpignan next Saturday, leaving his region with a mix-and-match midfield combination of Bishop and Tommy Bowe, normally a wing.

There is little doubt that another New Zealander, Warren Gatland, the Wales head coach, will have been _informed before the announcement and if individual discipline is an issue, he will have concurred.

Cipriani returns for London Wasps against Castres at Adams Park, High Wycombe, tomorrow in even closer proximity to Josh Lewsey, who punched him during a difference of opinion in training on Tuesday. Lewsey moves from the wing to centre instead of the injured Dominic Waldouck and forms, with Cipriani and Riki Flutey, the midfield triangle.

Gloucester begin their campaign against Biarritz at Kingsholm today saddened by the enforced retirement, aged only 27, of James Forrester. The back-row forward had a unique skill set but has conceded he cannot battle against a chronic condition to his right knee after 18 months. The latest setback came last month, which forced another operation, followed by a predicted eight-month recovery period.

“I demanded more of myself in this recovery process than I thought possible,” Forrester, capped twice as a replacement for England in 2005, said. “It’s simply not to be and I have been forced to make the hardest decision any player will have to make.”

- Munster, the Heineken Cup champions, began their title defence in uncertain fashion last night, beating Montauban 19-17 in pool one at Thomond Park, Limerick. The French club took a 3-0 lead early in the match but a try by Barry Murphy gave the home side a 10-3 advantage at half-time. Sylvain Jonnet’s try put Montauban 14-13 in front, but Ronan O’Gara replied with a penalty goal before Petre Mitu edged the visiting team ahead again. O’Gara ensured victory with his fourth penalty goal in the 77th minute.