I’M going to follow the advice of many Dragons fans on the Argus website who say virtually without exception – don’t touch him with a bargepole.

Who am I talking about? It can only be Gavin Henson.

I know the chances of his coming to Rodney Parade have lessened after he was granted a reprieve by Toulon, but even if he becomes available in the future, the Dragons should give him a very wide berth indeed.

Trouble seems to follow Henson around.

He left the Ospreys to join Saracens then departed for cash laden Toulon in the south of France – and promptly got himself suspended there.

Following the latest episode he has been linked with Newport Gwent Dragons and there is more than a suspicion that WRU chiefs want him to be in the Welsh team to face the Barbarians next month because of his box office appeal.

Don’t forget that though he had been out of rugby for 18 months he was the choice for the original giant poster boy figure at the front of the Millennium Stadium, causing fury among fellow Welsh players who had sweated blood for the cause while he was off doing his own thing, yet WRU chiefs appeared oblivious to the dissension in the ranks they were creating.

So if they could be so insensitive then, they can do it again and get him planted into the Welsh team to face the Baa-baas on the back of no form and no firm evidence at all. Crazy!

So whether it is Wales or the Dragons, I repeat – don’t do it. You will be making a big mistake if you get suckered by all the hype.

It’s true Henson can get himself on the front page, no less, of a notable tabloid national newspaper for being in trouble off the field in France, but what does that say about him and his rugby prowess?

He’s played a handful of games for Saracens and Toulon since his return from his 18-month break and though he’s shown a few nice touches and scored a try for the French team, grabbing headlines in some parts here as though he was the Messiah, that can’t possibly be enough to get him into the national side again.

Just what would it say about the centres who play regularly here that they can be overlooked in favour of someone who has played four or five games in almost two years?

It would harm, if not destroy, morale at a stroke and Henson’s presence would be divisive, for if he can allegedly upset the likes of Jonny Wilkinson in the laid back south of France what’s he going to do in the volatile Welsh rugby arena?

He’s not exactly Mr Popular with leading members of the Wales squad as it is, so to catapult him in on the back of no firm evidence would be a disaster in my opinion.

As for the possibility of joining the Dragons, that could, too, be a Welsh Rugby Union/Warren Gatland issue.

They would probably like to see him playing in Wales again under their eyes to discover whether he can, indeed, capture the form which helped them win Grand Slams in 2005 and 2008.

But if there is one thing which sums up the Dragons, it’s team spirit.

They have always enjoyed considerable camaraderie which has compensated for shortcomings elsewhere, even more so at the moment when their togetherness and fighting spirit has enabled them to enjoy some superb wins – with a big dash of skill thrown in as well right now.

Do the powers that be here want to risk all that by bringing in one, admittedly well known, player who would lift their profile but could put at risk everything they have worked so hard for? Surely not.

The one positive thing I will say is linking Henson with the Dragons shows where they stand at the moment, how far they have come in a short space of time.

Not so long ago people would have laughed at a player with Henson’s profile being linked with the Dragons, so often written off, so regularly no hopers, certainly in Europe’s premier competition. But while people may be laughing for other reasons at the prospect of Henson plying his trade at Rodney Parade, nobody is seeing anything wrong with such a well known player now being linked with the Dragons.

The more you see the stand and hospitality suite going up, the more you witness victories against teams like the Ospreys and the Blues, the more you realise things could really be happening here.

One more win against another formidable side like Ulster on Friday and there could be some fight for season tickets for next season and places in the new stand could go like hot cakes.

If the atmosphere is something special for the big Welsh derbies with the ground only half full, heaven knows what it’ll be like next season with the place jam-packed and the crowd into five figures, not four.

And following on from players like Adam Hughes, Toby Faletau, Lloyd Burns, Phil Price and Dan Way, who have all emerged big time this season, there’s now another in the pipeline with Steffan Jones.

Coach Darren Edwards gambled, so we thought, by picking the Cross Keys 10 at 15 against the Blues, but within the first five minutes he showed such confidence that he sped through a half gap rather than pass to a team-mate, threw an outrageous dummy behind his back which bamboozled the defence and strode on for a wondrous try.

And near the end he calmly stepped up a yard inside the Blues half and blazed a penalty straight between the uprights. Some debut!

Things really do look very promising for the Dragons on and off the field – don’t spoil it by attempting to parachute Gavin Henson into the place.