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'It was just on me' - Rhys Webb cops dire blunder on chin
By PA
Ospreys scrumhalf Rhys Webb has taken responsibility for a botched quick lineout that all but sealed a Saracens victory in the two sides' thrilling Champions Cup Round of 16 encounter at the StoneX.
The Gallagher Premiership leaders needed a late Duncan Taylor try to pull clear in a 35-20 victory at StoneX Stadium that set-up a quarter-final against champions La Rochelle, who crept past unfancied Gloucester on Saturday.
The former Scotland centre delivered the decisive blow in the 69th minute when he ran on to a quickly taken throw-in by Webb to touch down, punishing a terrible blunder by the Wales scrum-half.
It came as part of a salvo of 22 unanswered points, having trailed for 52 minutes as the Ospreys showed the killer instinct in attack lacked by the hosts until Max Malins plundered two tries.
Webb admitted his fault for Taylor’s try, but Ospreys boss Toby Booth refused to blame his half-back.
“It was just on me,” Webb said. “I thought he put his hand up to call for it. Instinct. It is what it is.”
Booth added: “When you play Saracens, you have to take them out of their rhythm. You have to force a bit.
“We knew we would have to do it our way. A lot of those things worked well for us. In that instance, it didn’t. But we have no regrets.”
Saracens boss Mark McCall described as one of the best first touches he'd seen.
“To be that alive and that switched on and to see it happening before anyone else saw it happening was superb. That was one of the best first touches,” McCall said.
McCall insisted his Heineken Champions Cup title hopefuls had risen to the occasion after being threatened with an upset by the Ospreys.
“We had a proper test and we passed it. We didn’t play as well as we’d have liked for the first 55 minutes,” McCall said.
“I’m really pleased about that last 25 minutes against a good side. Everything was different – more aggressive and proactive.
“There was a different intensity about us. In the first 55 minutes we looked like a team that had a lot to lose.
“In these games against good teams like the Ospreys, everything just doesn’t go your way.
“You have to dig in and go through some tough moments and tough periods. We ended up enjoying that test and relished the battle.
“There will be another battle next weekend, which is very exciting because we’ve never been to La Rochelle before and they’re the reigning champions. Gloucester might have poked the bear a little bit.”
The victory has come at the cost of injuries to Andy Christie and Alec Clarey, however, with the forwards suffering a suspected broken arm and suspected broken wrist respectively.
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Latest Comments
Australia definitely the game of the weekend. Wallabies by 3.
Go to commentsSmith is playing a different game with the rest of the backs struggling to understand. That's the problem with so called playmakers, if nobody gets what they're doing then it often just leads to a turnover. It gets worse when Borthwick changes one of them, which is why they don't score points at the end. Sometimes having a brilliant playmaker can be problematic if a team cannot be built around them. Once again Borthwick seems lacking in either coaching or selection. I can't help but think it's the latter coupled with pressure to select the big name players.
Lastly, his forward replacements are poor and exposed either lack of depth or selection pressure. Cole hemorrhages scrum penalties whenever he comes on, opponents take advantage of the England scrum and close out the game. Is that the best England can offer?
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