Rhys Webb has told Wales he is ready for a comeback against Italy on the opening weekend of the Six Nations.

The Ospreys scrum-half came through half a match against Bristol on Saturday, in readiness for a Test return in Rome next Sunday.

Webb, who has spent two months on the sidelines with an ankle injury, insisted he could have played more but came off due to an agreement with his coaches and medical staff.

It means Wales coach Rob Howley must now decide between Webb and Scarlets scrum-half Gareth Davies, who has also had recent injury problems, for the No.9 spot against the Italians.

Webb played the first 40 minutes of Ospreys’ 20-14 Anglo-Welsh Cup win over Bristol at the Brewery Field on Saturday and said: “I’m 100 per cent fit. I feel good.

“I didn’t want to come off after 40 (minutes) but there are guidelines with the conditioning coaches. They know my body. I’m loving it.

“I’ll go back in camp on Monday and train with the boys. I’m not just going in there to make up the numbers. I’ll be going in there to fight to get my jersey back.

“It’s going to be a cracking Six Nations. All the teams are strong and Italy had a cracking win over South Africa in the autumn. We know what they can do but we’ll just concentrate on ourselves and what we can do.”

Ospreys were indebted to tries for Dafydd Howells and Sam Underhill, with outside-half Luke Price supplying 10 points with the boot.

Bristol’s points came from tries through Max Crumpton and Marc Jones, with Billy Searle kicking two conversions.

Ospreys coach Tom Smith was delighted with the character of his side as the Welsh region made it three wins from three in the competition, following wins over Harlequins and Cardiff Blues.

He said: “We asked for a bit of emotion from the players and that’s what we got.

“We have enjoyed some good performances at Brewery Field over the years and we were delighted to bring that intent and commitment again.

“We did allow them to get into their heavy forward game but our defence was outstanding and we did defend for long periods.”

Bristol coach Mark Tainton was unimpressed by his team’s display – the visitors got back in the game, only to lose it in the final minutes.

He said: “I was disappointed with our performance.

“We were not at the races at the start and they scored from the first play of the game and were 7-0 up after a minute’s rugby.

“On a pitch like that you shouldn’t score a try from 60 or 70 metres out. People just fell off tackles and they scored a soft try.

“The one pleasing thing was that we got back in the game but then they responded – we have to be smarter and learn how to close these games out.”