TOULON HIT BACK AT WEBB’S ‘I WAS PUSHED’ CLAIMS

TOULON have hit back at Rhys Webb’s claims that he was pushed out of the Top 14 club. Webb (pictured) had recently spoken out about the manner of his messy exit from the French club at the beginning of the year, taking aim at owner Bernard Lemaitre and president Mourad Boudjellal for their alleged role in the saga.

Webb also told how he was ostracised during his final weeks in France after his summer move to the Ospreys was confirmed.

When he was granted dispensation to be called up to Wales’ Six Nations squad, he says he was made to train alone.

Now, Toulon coach Patrice Collazo has emphatically fired back at Webb’s claims.

Speaking in an interview with Var Matin, he said: “I see that Rhys has complained about the way we treated him in Toulon. He just omitted a few big details. In fact, there were several aspects.

“The first, when he announced to me last June that his wife wanted to return to Wales. I asked him if that was a problem for him. He told me that it was not and assured me that he will keep all of his commitments.

“I, for my part, agreed to arrange his timetable in complete transparency with respect to the other players so that he could see his family from time to time.”

However, come December, Webb had reached an agreement with the French side to release him from the final year of a contract that was due to run out in the summer of 2021, a decision Collazo says he wasn’t happy with.

“In October we hear that his CV is circulating in England,” he continued.

“We asked Rhys if he wanted to leave but he categorically denied it. Then in December, he announced that he no longer wanted to go through with his contract and wanted to be released.

“I explained to him that the moment was not very well chosen but that I could understand. He still assured me that he was going to have a big end of the season. For my part, I spoke with (director) Laurent Emmanuelli and to the president so that he released him for free. Rhys thanked me.”

The scrum-half went on to sign a contract with the Ospreys for next season, before then convincing Wales boss Wayne Pivac and the WRU to overlook the 60-cap rule needed for international selection of players based outside of Wales.

The latter move seemingly infuriated his employers.

“As soon as he had this agreement, he approached the Welsh federation to try to be reinstated in the national team for the Six Nations and we learned in January, 24 hours before a match, that he would now be selectable,” said Collazo.

“Disappointed by his behaviour, I decided to leave him out despite the absence of (Baptiste) Serin and the unavailability of (Anthony) Meric. I didn’t give him an explanation since he didn’t give one to me. I don’t think loyalty can be one way. It’s a framework that I cannot override. No player is above the institution.

“We did a lot for him, I just expected loyalty and involvement from him. From the moment he left us in trouble, it was clear that we were no longer his priority, so we had to negotiate his immediate and final exit.”

Having initially been set to see out the 2019/20 season in France, Webb was left without a club, joining English Premiership side Bath on a shortterm deal in February.

The scrum-half made two appearances as a sub for Wales during this year’s Six Nations, and was due to start the final match with Scotland at the Principality Stadium before the clash was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic.