Webb to the rescue for the Ospreys

RHYS Webb produced a moment of magic to give Ospreys victory in a dire encounter against Zebre in Swansea.

The opening 40 minutes was a dour old affair as rain swept across the Liberty Stadium.

For the Ospreys, securing their own lineout ball was a real challenge, with a series of throws being picked off.

They also had issues at scrumtime, conceding a couple of penalties there, so their efforts were undermined at source by set-piece problems, with Zebre having the better of the half overall.

Skipper for the night Webb was doing everything he could to spark his side, sniping around the fringes, showing he hasn’t let his head drop following his omission from Wales’ Six Nations squad.

One dummying dart threatened a score, while a break down the narrow side of the scrum was followed by an intelligent chip over the top.

But such good positions would then be lost as the lineout went wrong.

Opposing fly-halves Antonio Rizzi and Josh Thomas were both off target with penalty attempts, before young Thomas finally opened the scoring with the final kick of the half.

Things didn’t improve any in the third quarter. It remained a really grim watch.

Nigel Owens had given a couple of warnings to both captains about mounting penalties and 11 minutes from time he eventually lost patience.

Ospreys replacement hooker Ifan Phillips was the man to see yellow and head to the sin bin for coming in at the side of a ruck and slowing the ball down.

But the 14 men soon pounced for a try, with skipper Webb going over and Thomas converting.