Webb’s Wales regret
Ospreys back-row on his looming international exile ile
As a boy at Brynteg comprehensive school in Bridgend, Rhys Webb used to stare up at the honours board just to the left of the headmistress as she gave morning assembly. There, day after day, he caught sight of the names of those who had gone before him and achieved significant things, mainly in rugby: Jack Matthews, JPR Williams, Mike Hall, Rob Howley, Gavin Henson and, from the political sphere, current First Minister Carwyn Jones.
Brynteg, one of the largest secondary schools in Wales, is proud of its heritage and Webb is delighted to be in such company, the most recent of the half-dozen Lions produced by the school.
Webb’s details will be engraved on the roll-call for years to come. Which is more than can be said for his name on future Wales team sheets. The 29-year-old scrum-half is embarking on his last few months of service in the red shirt, assuming that Warren Gatland does not do the unthinkable and omit him from the 2018 Six Nations squad to be named on Tuesday.
For thousands of Wales supporters, as well as for Webb, not to mention Gatland himself, the Welsh Rugby Union did deliver such unimaginable tidings in October when announcing its policy for the ongoing selection of players. Those who played their rugby outside of Wales, but had 60 caps or more, would still be eligible. Those who did not have that tally, would be excluded. Webb is bound for Toulon in the summer. His Ospreys half-back partner, Dan Biggar, is heading for Northampton. Biggar has 60 caps and plays on for Wales. Webb has 33 and will not.
It was a thunderbolt for all concerned. Even now, three months later, on a soft, misty afternoon at Ospreys’ Llandarcy training base on the outskirts of Neath, Webb struggles to suppress his despair at the decision. A scapegoat is how many saw him, “heartbroken” is how he described it himself at the time, and, much as he has committed himself to moving on in order to focus on the rest of the season, with tonight’s seminal Champions Cup Pool Two fixture against title-holders Saracens at the Liberty Stadium of immediate relish, Webb does admit that the prospect of perhaps never again appearing in the Wales shirt cuts deep.
“I don’t want to be bitter as I have many good friends in the team that I will be rooting for, but watching that first Welsh game will be difficult after having the door closed on me,” said Webb. “I’ve had to take it on the chin but it was disappointing. It took a while to sink in. It was the first I’d heard of it when it was announced. I’d signed for Toulon two weeks before that.
“There was never any chance of trying to change that. I didn’t want to. I’ve given all I can to Ospreys here since coming through the academy 11 years ago and it was time for a new challenge. When Toulon expressed an interest, I was over the moon. But playing for Wales does mean so much to me. It always has. I used to dream of scoring for my country as a little boy, look up at the honours board in school, see all those names and want to be part of that. Rugby is the heart and soul of Wales.
“There’s nothing I can do about it now except go out there and enjoy playing even more, for Ospreys and, if selected, for Wales, trying to make it all that bit more special knowing my time is coming to an end. My aim is to empty the tank in trying to do my best for whichever team I’m in. I want to finish on a high.”
The irony that he might have been eligible for the 60-cap exemption ruling had injury, some incurred on Wales duty, not removed him at times from selection consideration (one estimate puts his missed caps at 29) is not lost on him. Webb is not holding his breath for a get-out-ofjail card nearer the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
“Who knows what might happen, but, for me, it’s done, it’s over,” said Webb who can see the logic of the policy. “If good comes from it, then it will be that the best players stay in Wales. I can understand that. You want to see the regional game strong.”
Many feel that Webb’s long service with Ospreys ought to have been a consideration when the WRU devised its new selection strategy. Webb has made some 150 appearances for the region, helping them to a Pro12 title in 2012, Ospreys winning a thrilling final against Leinster, 31-30. Yet the feeling persists that a team of such talent has not punched its weight in Europe, never getting past the quarter-final stage. A gilt-edged chance to make a mark awaits them tonight. Victory would eliminate Saracens and set up Ospreys for a tilt at automatic qualification as pool winners.
“We’ve not dwelt on the mathematics,” said Webb, who will be up against several colleagues, such as Owen Farrell and Maro Itoje, from the Lions tour. “Everyone wrote us off when the pools were drawn [with Clermont Auvergne and Northampton also in the group], so we have just gone out with an attitude of giving it a crack. It would be great to finish off in style with these boys, a lot of whom have been together for 10 years or more.”
And then a whole new ball game in Toulon. Webb has made one trip to meet Mourad Boudjellal, the owner, and Fabien Galthie, their head coach. Webb will decamp there in June with his partner and two boys, Regan, seven, and Jesse, two. “You get to my stage and you want to win things,” said Webb, who intends to start French lessons shortly. “Toulon are at the forefront of the European game and want to stay there. Much as it is a wrench with Wales, it is a dream come true to be going to a club like Toulon. It can only make me better as a player.”
Toulon’s gain is Wales’ loss.