For 15 minutes at least, Gavin Henson’s rugby league debut seemed to be going to plan. The 39-year-old has made a habit of writing his own script throughout his rugby career, but his first appearance in league on Sunday afternoon was a fairly brutal exhibition of just how difficult this surprise transition between codes can be. Henson had insisted in the buildup to his West Wales Raiders debut that his new club could challenge for promotion from League 1, rugby league’s third-tier, this season, despite the Raiders winning one game in the last three years. Granted, they will not face opposition as strong as the Widnes side who eliminated Henson and his teammates from the Challenge Cup at the first hurdle, and there was certainly no lack of effort throughout. This will have certainly served as a harsh wake-up call for Henson as to how tough league can be if you have never played it before, let alone at the age of 39. Being dropped into any side would be challenging enough, but the weakest side in the professional game were, despite plenty of effort, well beaten here after taking an early lead against a side with far more rugby league experience and ability than West Wales possessed. And Henson’s own performance? Quiet, certainly. But that was to be expected, and there were occasional glimpses of his ability – even if the majority of West Wales’s attacking threat came through his half-back partner, the former England international Rangi Chase. Henson certainly took a back seat in terms of that partnership, though you would have perhaps expected nothing less given how little exposure he has had to rugby league. “I thought he was good,” West Wales’s coach, Aaron Wood, said. “He showed some positive touches, and being a man light after 15 minutes on his edge didn’t help him. He said he found it very quick and difficult, but he’s only going to get better.” With seven weeks now until Henson’s next game, the League 1 opener against Rochdale, there is plenty of time for him to reflect on a testing debut and continue to learn the game. Henson was largely helpless for many of the 11 tries Widnes scored to book their place in the next round of the cup. There was a brief threat of a shock when Uraia Naulusala scored an early try for West Wales, but when Jamie Murphy was sent off for a dangerous tackle just after the quarter of an hour mark, the outcome quickly began to feel like a formality. The Vikings ran in try after try at will, eventually winning 58-4, with Steve Tyrer and Jack Owens both claiming hat-tricks. “I thought he looked threatening on a couple of occasions,” Wood said of Henson’s performance. “He said he missed the jump on a couple of things, but he’s seen that and he knows where he’s going to get better, which is good. For a first hit-out for a bloke who’s never played rugby league before, I was impressed.” Henson himself had warned it would take some time to adjust, and a game against such strong opposition live on television for his debut was far from ideal. But in the end, this was never going to be the day that would define whether switching codes in the final throes of his career will be a success. Those are still to come: but this was a fairly brutal eye-opening to rugby league.