Rhys Webb (born 9 December 1988) is a Welsh
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
player who plays as a
scrum-half for
Ospreys. Born in
Bridgend
Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...
, he is a product of the
Ospreys academy and played club rugby for
Bridgend RFC
Bridgend Ravens ( cy, Cigfrain Pen-y-bont) (formerly Bridgend RFC) are a semi-professional rugby union club based in Bridgend, South Wales.
They currently play in the Welsh Premier Division and are a feeder club to the Ospreys regional team ...
and
Aberavon RFC
Aberavon RFC ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Aberafan) is a rugby union club located in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, though the club's name refers to the older settlement of Aberavon which lies on the western side of the town.
The club was founded in 1876 ...
before breaking into the regional side in 2008. He played for the Ospreys for 10 years before moving to French club
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
in 2018, but terminated his contract with them in 2020 and agreed a return to the Ospreys; however, he was unable to join the Ospreys immediately and signed for Bath for the remainder of the 2019–20 season before returning to the Ospreys.
Webb represented Wales at under-16,
under-18, under-19 and
under-20 levels, as well as in international
rugby sevens, before making his debut for the
senior national team in 2012. He played 31 times before the
Welsh Rugby Union
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby.
The WRU is responsible for the running ...
's selection criteria meant his move to Toulon made him ineligible for further selection; however, his decision to return to the Ospreys in 2020 meant he could again be included in the selection pool. Webb was also selected in the
British & Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...
' squad for their
2017 tour to New Zealand.
Career
Club career
Born in
Bridgend
Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...
and educated at
Brynteg Comprehensive School
Brynteg School ( cy, Ysgol Brynteg) is one of the largest secondary schools in Wales. It is located on Ewenny Road in Bridgend, Wales. The school is one of seven comprehensive schools in the County Borough of Bridgend and mainly receives pupils ...
, Webb began his rugby career with
Bridgend Athletic RFC
Bridgend Athletic RFC are a Wales, Welsh rugby union club based in Bridgend in South Wales. They are members of the Welsh Rugby Union playing in the National League Division 1 West and are a feeder club for the Ospreys (rugby union), Ospreys.
Hi ...
, and also played for
Bridgend RFC
Bridgend Ravens ( cy, Cigfrain Pen-y-bont) (formerly Bridgend RFC) are a semi-professional rugby union club based in Bridgend, South Wales.
They currently play in the Welsh Premier Division and are a feeder club to the Ospreys regional team ...
and
Aberavon RFC
Aberavon RFC ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Aberafan) is a rugby union club located in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, though the club's name refers to the older settlement of Aberavon which lies on the western side of the town.
The club was founded in 1876 ...
in the
Welsh Premiership while coming through the
Ospreys age grade system; he won the Reebok Regional Championship trophy with the under-18s side during the 2005–06 season and was a losing finalist with the under-20s during the 2006–07 season. He was also a
Rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
junior with
Bridgend Blue Bulls
The Blue Bulls (known as Bridgend Blue Bulls RLFC between 2003 and 2012) are a rugby league side based in Pyle, Wales. They play in the Welsh Premier of the Rugby League Conference. They are the most successful amateur rugby league team in Wal ...
and East Wales in 2004.
He made his debut for the senior regional side in March 2008, coming on as a substitute for
Shane Williams
Shane Mark Williams, (born 26 February 1977) is a Welsh rugby union player most famous for his long and successful tenure as a wing for the Ospreys and the Wales national team. He also played scrum-half on occasion. Williams is the record tr ...
in a 32–7 win over
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
. He made another substitute appearance in a 19–18 loss to
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
a month later, replacing
Justin Marshall
Justin Warren Marshall (born 5 August 1973) is a New Zealand former rugby union player. He played 81 games for the New Zealand All Blacks between 1995 and 2005.
Marshall played for the in the Super 12 from 1996 to 2005, winning the competit ...
, before starting the final two games of the season against the
Newport Gwent Dragons
Dragons RFC ( cy, Dreigiau) are one of the four professional rugby union regional teams in Wales. They are owned by the Welsh Rugby Union and play their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport and at other grounds around the region. They play in ...
and
Connacht
Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...
. At the end of the season, he signed a new four-year contract with the region.
Injuries to fellow scrum-halves
Mike Phillips and
Jamie Nutbrown
Ronald Jamie Nutbrown (born 1981 in Christchurch, New Zealand), is a referee for Canterbury and New Zealand Rugby Union.
Formerly a Half-back/Scrum Half for the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union club in New Zealand, who compete in the ITM Cup.
Educat ...
during the 2008–09 season meant more opportunities for Webb to make an impression in the Ospreys first team, making 11 appearances during the season. He played just twice in the team's title-winning 2009–10 campaign, but eventually supplanted Phillips as the Ospreys' starting scrum-half during the 2010–11 season, after impressing while Phillips was on Wales duty. He suffered a shoulder injury at the end of the season, but underwent surgery and was fit enough to begin the 2011–12 season as the team's starting scrum-half, replacing Phillips, who had moved to
Bayonne
Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...
. Webb scored his first senior try in the opening game of the season, a 27–3 win at home to
Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...
. He scored again the following week against
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, and added two more before the end of the season.
In March 2015, Webb became the eighth player to sign a dual-contract between club and the WRU.
An ankle injury suffered in Wales' opening Autumn international against Australia on 5 November ruled him out for up to 12 weeks, but recovered slightly ahead of schedule, and scored within four minutes of his return to club rugby as he captained the Ospreys to a 26–21 win over
Newcastle Falcons
Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union.
The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...
in the
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...
on 21 January. He also played the first half of the Ospreys' 20–14
Anglo-Welsh Cup
The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...
win over
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, before returning to Wales duty for the
2017 Six Nations.
On 10 October 2017, it was announced that Webb would leave Ospreys after 10 years with the region to join French club Toulon in the
Top 14
The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...
on a three-year contract. In March 2018, Webb suffered a knee injury and missed the remainder of the season, bringing his time with the Ospreys to a premature end.
In December 2019, Webb cut short his contract with Toulon to return to the Ospreys in the summer of 2020. Webb had been due to see out the remainder of the season with Toulon, but the club's owner accused Webb of having shown a "dishonest attitude" to get himself released from his contract, and stated that Webb would not play for Toulon again. Now without a club, he signed a short-term deal with Bath in February 2020 for the remainder of the
2019–20 Premiership Rugby season. He made his debut on 1 March 2020, in a 19–13 home defeat to
Bristol Bears
Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 18 ...
, the first time Bath had lost at home to Bristol in 14 years.
International career
Webb played for Wales U18 in the 2005–06 U18 Home Four Nations Championship and was called up as a member of the 2006–07 Wales U19 set-up for the IRB U19 World Championships. He was called up to the Wales U20 squad for the 2007–2008 RBS U20 Six Nations Championships where he played three times and scored a try, and was also in the squad for the 2008 IRB Junior World Championships.
Webb was a member of the Wales squad that won the
2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens
The 2009 Rugby Sevens World Cup was the fifth edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected Dubai in the United Arab Emirates as the host venue for the tournament ahead of bids from four other countries. The f ...
in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
and remained part of the national
rugby sevens set-up in 2010.
In January 2012, he was called into
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
' 35-man senior squad for the training camp in Poland prior to the 2012 Six Nations Championship. He made his full international debut for Wales against Italy on 10 March 2012 as a second-half replacement.
On 6 September 2015, Webb was injured during a warm up match against Italy and was ruled out of the
2015 Rugby World Cup
The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...
. He was replaced by
Gareth Davies.
Recalled during the
2016 Six Nations Championship
The 2016 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2016 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by The Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 17th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship.
I ...
after a remarkable recovery, producing man-of-the-match performances for the Ospreys, Webb replaced Davies at scrum-half during the match against England. He was then back at first-choice for his position, starting for Wales' last match of the tournament against Italy.
Webb began the
2016 Autumn internationals as Wales' first-choice scrum-half, but suffered a serious ankle injury during the second half of their opening match against
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and following surgery was ruled out for 12 weeks, with his return predicted for just prior to the
2017 Six Nations Championship.
Webb was selected by the
British & Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...
for their
2017 tour to New Zealand. He appeared as a replacement in two of the test matches on the tour, and scored one try.
Following Webb's decision to leave the Ospreys for Toulon in 2017, the
Welsh Rugby Union
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby.
The WRU is responsible for the running ...
(WRU) introduced new regulations governing the selection of players for the national team, whereby players based outside Wales with fewer than 60 caps would no longer be considered for selection, including Webb, who had only 28 caps at the time; however, this met with controversy as Webb agreed to move to Toulon before the rule changes were announced, leading to arguments that they should not apply to him, especially as Toulon claimed the WRU had already agreed terms for Webb's release for international matches during his time there. Webb described the WRU's decision as a "blow", but said he would not reverse his decision despite the change to his selection status. He played in three of Wales'
2017 Autumn internationals, but a knee injury in early 2018 meant he missed the
2018 Six Nations Championship, leaving him unable to add to his 31 caps before leaving for France.
In the lead-up to the
2019 Rugby World Cup
The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...
, Wales coach
Warren Gatland
Warren David Gatland (born 17 September 1963) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player who is currently in his second spell as the head coach of the Wales national team.
As head coach of Wales from 2007 to 2019, he won four Six N ...
expressed his regret at not being able to select Webb for the tournament, and later said he thought the 60-cap selection threshold was too high. Webb did, however, play a part in the World Cup warm-up matches, appearing for the
Barbarians
A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...
in their 51–43 loss to England.
With Webb's return to the Ospreys agreed in December 2019, he was again made available for selection for Wales duty. He was named in the squad for the
2020 Six Nations Championship
The 2020 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 21st Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland ...
on 15 January 2020, and made appearances off the bench in the opening match against Italy and the penultimate match against England, before starting against Scotland on the final weekend, his first start since November 2017.
Webb found himself out of Wales reckoning under Wayne Pivac, but was recalled by returning head coach Warren Gatland for the
2023 Six Nations
The 2023 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 24th Six Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland ...
squad.
International tries
Wales
British & Irish Lions
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Rhys
1988 births
Living people
Aberavon RFC players
Bath Rugby players
Bridgend RFC players
British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales
Male rugby sevens players
Ospreys (rugby union) players
RC Toulonnais players
Rugby union players from Bridgend
Rugby union scrum-halves
Wales international rugby union players
Welsh rugby union players