RP Interview with Rhys Webb - 'Lions was pinnacle, but frustrating'
At 28, Rhys Webb is at his peak. One of the form scrum-half’s on the international scene, his performances for Wales and the Ospreys in recent years, allied with his unique ability to rack up tries made him a shoo-in for British and Irish Lions selection for the summer tour to New Zealand.
He was duly selected by Warren Gatland, his international coach with Wales for so long, on the 41-man panel, with his pace, dangerous darts and sniping runs all outstanding facets to a well-rounded half-back.
Meeting him, he says being part of the drawn series was the highlight of his career so far, but quantifies this by also conceded there was a touch of frustration over how things went for him personally.
Although he featured in five of the 10 tour games and made the squad in each of the three Tests, he amassed just 24 Test minutes in his selection battle with Conor Murray.
“The Lions was a brilliant experience, it was the pinnacle of my career,” he said. “It was great to be involved with so many boys I haven’t played with or against, like a lot of the English boys, and there were a lot of world-class boys there as well, so it was great to come along and play with these guys as four nations into one.
“It was a brilliant six weeks playing with them and to come away with a draw was pretty impressive as well.
“The challenges of a Lions tour are that you have to get yourself mentally right for game after game. I think I went playing the first four or five games, so it’s a lot really to get yourself emotionally high and then trying to switch off as well when sometimes you’ve got a one-day turnaround until the next game.
“That was the most challenging aspect for me, just staying focused the whole time, and I felt I did that although I would have liked to have played a lot more in the Tests.
“But coming on, I just had to get into the game as quick as I could and do my best for the team.
“I was lucky enough to come on and obviously score in the first Test. I didn’t get on in the second Test, which was disappointing, and the third Test I got on as well.
“It was frustrating at times. Personally, I was thinking I could have got on a bit earlier in the games and could have offered something else to the team, but the coaches obviously had their own opinions and thoughts so it’s just one of those things where you have to keep your head down and get on with it really.
“It was quite difficult yeah, because you know the coaches and after a win like that in the second Test, I kind of knew that they weren’t going to change much, so it was a fact of just trying to work hard in training and put my hand up for selection again for the third Test.”
An enthralling six-week tour came down to the final seconds as a third Test draw at Eden Park left all things level.
In retrospect, a draw in the backyard of the double world champion All Blacks will be looked upon as a tremendous achievement for years to come, but Webb revealed at the time, confusion reigned at what to do and what to feel.
“I think when the whistle went we thought: ‘well what exactly happens now?'” he said.
“We thought: ‘Is there one more game? Is it extra-time, or what?’, but look we play the game because we want to win and part of us was obviously disappointed that we didn’t win, but a draw after a lot of people had written us off was good.
“We believed as a unit, as a team, we could go over there and obviously create history and a draw at the end was probably the right result.”
On August 1, official confirmation arrived of the Cheetahs and Kings’ introduction into a new pan-European PRO14, with a changing of the league’s format into a two conference system.
Within each of these two conferences will be two Irish provinces, two Welsh regions, one Scottish club, one Italian club and one of the two South African sides.
One issue raised initially regarding the new set-up surrounded derby fixtures and the possibility of losing these, but the official announcement revealed 21 regular season matches for each club, with all derbies remaining in place.
In this restructure, Webb and his Ospreys colleges have been placed into Conference A alongside the Blues, but will still face the Scarlets and Dragons home and away, something he says is vital for the league.
“It’s massive to keep all the derbies in place,” he said. “To play Judgement Day in the Principality Stadium, the crowds are getting bigger and bigger.
“Even when we don’t play at the stadium, we play at our home pitches and there’s still a really good environment to play in.
“In these derbies everyone wants to perform. You come up against rivals and someone looking for your jersey so it’s always good, it’s always a hostile environment and exciting to play in.”
In welcoming in the two South African franchises, the division will transform from a Celtic and Italian league into a global one. Having begun his career in the old Celtic League, and played the rest of it in the PRO12 thereafter, Webb admits he is looking forward to experiencing the unique new changes, allaying any immediate fears that sprung to his mind regarding travel.
“It’ll be pretty good, it’s interesting,” Webb added. “A trip to South Africa is a positive, it’s somewhere I’ve never been and it’s good to welcome these guys into the league and hopefully they’ll add competition and the league will just get stronger.
“Everyone’s had their reaction to it and we’re all looking forward to the season kicking off and getting going.
“At first I just thought about the travelling, it came to mind straight away. Obviously, they’re in the same timezone as us but I think the travelling is about eight hours, so as long as you get there at the beginning of the week you’re playing, there’s no reason why you can’t adapt.
“Ideally I think you’d leave on a Tuesday, have a day off on the Wednesday and then have two days training over there before you play. It’s not the end of the world. It’s eight hours and then you’re good to go.”
At club level, Webb and his fellow Ospreys will return to the European Champions cup this season following a year’s hiatus, and it’s where he says the region belongs.
“The Ospreys are a big club and the European Cup is where they belong really I believe.
“We’ll come up against some world class teams in Saracens, Clermont and Northampton [Saints], and I think everyone’s looking forward to that.
“I haven’t started back yet, I start back on the 28th of August, so I’m looking forward to getting back in with the boys and we’re all looking to get the season off to a flyer.
“Then we’re excited for when these European games come around, because these are the games you want to play in, these are the ones you’ve got to put your hand up in to get selected for Wales.”
It’s approaching five years since Wales last won a piece of silverware: the 2013 Six Nations Championship before the previous Lions tour to Australia, and next year they face a tough schedule in travelling to England and Ireland.
Having made his international debut during Wales’ 2012 Grand Slam campaign, Webb concedes they must start challenging for honours again soon, and feels their brutally tough November fixture list should get them in the ideal shape to do so.
“The November internationals will be quite a good stepping stone now,” he said. “They [Wales] took a lot of young boys on the summer tour to play Samoa and Tonga, so it will be interesting to see these boys and the Lions boys come back together.
“We play New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Georgia, so again we’re going to test ourselves against the best sides in the world and then go into the Six Nations, which if it’s anything like the last one where everyone was beating everyone, it’ll be a hell of a tournament, which is great to be involved in.
“Hopefully it can be the same again but it’s about time we started winning stuff again, though there are a lot of teams out there playing great rugby as well.
“It’s going to be tough but there’s no reason why we can’t.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Think you might have written this just before the Brumbies got thrashed last weekend
5 Go to commentsI really do believe that Billy Proctor should be selected at least in the larger squad but also it would be my choice at 13, much more a center than Ioane who can still play at wing. Roigard if fit should play, otherwise it should be Perenara or Christie. Also, Iose could deserve a spot at blindside. Of course, being a Canes supporter I’m biased but I really believe that at least Billy P is deserving a chance and being Holland one of the Selectors, I’m having a little hope he could grab it.
12 Go to commentsI would not play Swinton I’d pick Wright or Hanigan. The rest are decent starters, but can’t agree on any subs except Tupou. My take on the subs: Gibbon, Ueslese, Tupou, LSL, Wilson, White, Will Harrison, and Petaia.
5 Go to commentsSBW the biggest moron to pull on a black jersey a park footy player at best
7 Go to commentsSBW is fast becoming a laughing stock, his misplaced comments & lack of insight Is actually pretty sad.
7 Go to commentsJust well you guys are couch 🛋 potatoes selector's, picking a team of greenhorns to play England! “What are you people smoking?” The halfbacks will be Christie, Fakatava, Perenara Props; Newell, Bower, Lomax, Tunga'fasi, Hookers; Asosa Amua when fit, Taylor, Samisoni,
12 Go to commentsQuite frankly, all this is a bit pathetic. The first time Wales get the Wooden Spoon in 21 years and everyone is on the bandwagon for a ‘play-off’ game. Wales have no obligation to Georgia and no obligation to the rest of the Six Nations to play such a game. If they want Georgia in so badly then they need to include South Africa into a Northern Hemisphere competition with 2 leagues of 4 teams with the top 2 competing for the Championship. Sadly, this will end Triple Crowns and Grand Slams forever. Is this really what you want?
4 Go to commentsI think Finau to start Blackadder to come on. Poss Prokter instead of Ioane, haven't seen much from Reiko so far this year.
12 Go to commentsJoe will have had a good chat with Dave Rennie, a smart move to begin with while it’s doubtful Fast Eddie will be consulted? Plenty of Aus players hitting top form so they should go OK.
5 Go to commentsMmm. Not sure I like this article or see it as necessary.
7 Go to commentsBlackadder but no Finau! 😀 It’s Razor so you are probably right, plus Taylor at 2…
12 Go to commentsThe strongest possible AB side would actually include Aaron Smith, Bodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Leicester Fainga'anuku, Shannon Frizzel.. don’t get me started on the rest of the injury hit brigade that got flung on the heap so left. Many a whole not getting filled as of yet.
12 Go to commentsI don’t think anyone knows what Schmidt will do, one thing is certain it ain’t gonna be all the picks we on the keyboard will think. My impression of him is that he will be looking at who can step up and what is the best combination. He will ignore individuals as he looks for guys who can build a powerful team and not just guys who can make a flashy run or ignore the winger as they want to score themselves.
5 Go to commentsSome dumb selections there. Not Porecki Not Donaldson Not Gordon Not Lonegran - both Not Nic White - Fines instead Not Liam Wright Not Paisami Definitely not Vunivalu Other than that not bad.
5 Go to commentsI've never been convinced that Patty T is a test match all black. Otherwise I probably agree it's the best side available to beat the poms. Caveat that Codie Taylor is yet to be seen and could very likely warrant selection by June. I hope that Razor brings the young loosies, half backs and locks into the training squad and develops/ selects the best
12 Go to commentsYou doing the same thing I disliked about the example of Samisoni Taukei'aho, Nick. He’s great the way he is, you’re trying to do what modern-day coaches frustrate me doing, turning everyone into the perfect athlete. Next thing you’ll be telling me you’ll bench him until he’s hit that arbitrary marker, and can’t overtake the current guy who’s doing all his workons. He’s a young Kieran Read, through and through, plays wide and has threat, mainly (and evident in your clips) through his two hand carry and speed. Just let him work on that, or whatever he wants, and determine his own future. Play God and you risk the players going sideways, like Read did, instead of being a Toutai Kefu. I mean I was in the same camp for a while, wanting our tight five to have the size, and carry ability, as the teams they were getting beat by. Now I’m starting to believe those teams just have better skilled and practiced individuals, bigger by upwards of 5kg sometimes, sure, but more influentially they have those intrinsic skills of trust and awareness. Basically our guys just didn’t know wtf they were doing. Don’t think I’m trying to prove a point here but hasn’t Caleb Clarke been in much better form this year, or does he just ‘look’ better now that he’s not always trying to use his size?
44 Go to commentsThe pack lacks a little in height for the line out and I wouldn’t be completely convinced by some of the combinations till we see it in action.
12 Go to commentsThe side is good but lacks experience. International playing bona fides udually trumps super rugby form for good reason. And incumbents are usually stuck with. Codie Taylor should start or come off the bench. B Barrett will start at fullback. Blackadder has not earned the position, Finau has. TJs experience and competitiveness earns him a starting role, Christie or Ratima off the bench
12 Go to commentsPretty good side. Scott Barrett should be the captain. Ethan Blackadder a great choice at blindside. He is going to go from strength to strength having made a couple of starts for the Crusaders. Scott Robertson rates him highly. Perenara could start a no 9.
12 Go to commentsI question and with respect. Was enough done over the last few years to bring through new blood knowing the Whitelocks and co couldn’t last forever. There should have been more done to future proof the team. New squad new coach, he and they weren’t set up well. IMO
6 Go to comments