Warren Gatland is still hoping “common-sense” will prevail before next year’s World Cup and the WRU will have a change of heart in making Rhys Webb available for the tournament.
Now playing in the TOP 14 with Toulon, the British & Irish Lions scrum half became the first high profile player to fall foul of the new rule that stops players being eligible to play for Wales if they haven’t reached 60 caps and elect to join a club outside the country.
But hot on the heels of Webb’s admission at the weekend that he still hopes to extend his 31-cap career despite being in exile in the south of France, Gatland admitted he “feels sorry for Rhys”.
“I would love the opportunity to be able to pick him, but the rules say that I can’t. If there are a couple of injuries I would like to think that maybe common sense would prevail,” said Gatland.
“The pleasing thing is that the Rugby Management Board, which is the four regional head coaches, meets every month. They understand, they know what the situation is and I don’t think anyone wants to see a team hampered in the ability to pick the best player.
“We do have regulations at the moment, which have been agreed by the Union and the regions, and at the moment it is a firm ‘No’. But you can never say never.
“If we turned up in nine months and it was important to us to take Rhys Webb to the World Cup, would people consider an exception? I would like to think there might be some common sense.”
With Gareth Davies, Aled Davies and Tomos Williams all vying for Webb’s jersey following his departure, Gatland is not short of good options to fill a pivotal position in his side. But he is the first to admit and a fit and firing Rhys Webb would be a major asset to any team.
“There is no doubt that when he is fit and playing well he is world class. Could it make a difference to us having someone available like that? Possibly,” added Gatland.
“If his form is outstanding for Toulon, and Toulon are doing well – they were struggling a bit and he has got to get back in and play well – you have that debate at a later date. At the moment, we will see how the others come on.
“I do feel sorry for him as he had agreed terms with Toulon before the policy had taken place. That’s tough. Would he have still made the decision? I don’t know – you’d have to ask him that.
“There is a part of me that still thinks he would have made the decision to go anyway.”