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It's official: Rhys Webb is back at the Ospreys

Rhys Webb will trade Toulon for Ospreys at the end of this season (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Ospreys have revealed they have captured the services of Rhys Webb on a two-year deal from next summer. 

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The scrum-half, whose international career with Wales has been on hold since he moved to Toulon in 2017, revealed at the weekend he was free to leave France a year earlier than intended.

Having already spent a decade at Ospreys, the Swansea-based club were always likely to be at the head of the queue for his signature and so it has proven, the region taking to social media on Tuesday morning to post a video showing Webb arriving ar Cardiff airport and journeying to the Liberty Stadium to put pen to paper.  

“It’s just great to come back where rugby all started for me,” said Webb on ospreysrugby.com. “I’m really looking forward to the challenge and fighting for the Ospreys jersey again.

“I have loved my time in Toulon but it’s a relief to come home to the Ospreys. It’s where my family are, where I was brought up, and where rugby all started for me. To return to play for my home region again is just really special for me and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be able to do that again.

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“I have been away for two years, and I know there have been a lot of changes and that there are a lot of exciting young players coming through and some familiar faces too, I am looking forward to the challenge.

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“Hopefully, I can pass on my experience to the younger players and I am determined to do as much as I can to help the team. As I said at the time, nobody turns down Toulon and I wanted to experience something different.

“I am thankful that they have released me a year early from my contract and I am as excited about returning to the Ospreys as I was at going to France. Everybody knows how important my family is to me and being able to return home, especially to the Ospreys is massive for me.”

It was March 2008 when Webb first played for Ospreys, debuting against Ulster and going on to play 154 times for the club. Their managing director Andrew Millward said: “All of us at the Ospreys are delighted that Rhys has decided to come home.

“He is a world-class scrum-half and has proved that with the Ospreys, Wales, Toulon and the Lions, and to be able to bring him back home is something all of us should be proud of. The Ospreys are in his DNA.

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“During our discussions with him, it became clear how important the Ospreys were to him and how much he wanted to wear the jersey again. His signing is a statement of our intent and ambition to build a squad capable of taking on the best in the PRO14 and in Europe.”

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TI 2 hours ago
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Rieko took literally years to turn from a defensive liability at 13 into a guy, who’s defensively sound as it befits the position. And it all came at the cost of him being much less of an offensive threat, than what he used to be. Proctor is a natural 13, he handles, passes, and kicks way better than Rieko ever will, he just isn’t as fast.


It’s unfair to judge Tupaea on the handful of games he’s had in 2022 before he got nearly crippled by a Wallaby lock. What could Tupaea/Proctor pairing be, if they got the same amount of chances as Jordie/Rieko?


Because no matter how you spin it, playing a player outside of his natural position is a poor asset management. No matter how talented he is, he still competes against players who had years and years of practice at the position. And if said guy is so talented that he actually CAN compete against specialists, imagine how much better still he could have been, if he had all those years to iron the toothing issues at the position. It just drives me mad.


Two things I hate in rugby union beyond description: aping after league, and playing players outside of their natural position. Especially considering, that they all admit they hate it, when they’re allowed to speak freely. Owen Farrell spent 80% of his international career at 12, saying every time when asked, that he is a 10 and prefers to play at 10. Those players are literally held at a gunpoint: play out of position, or no national jersey for you.

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