The Old
Pocklingtonian
OP Rugby
He also played off the bench in the subsequent
matches against Wales at Twickenham and France in
Paris, where he tore a shoulder muscle. He underwent
an operation and was ruled out of England’s QBE
International series in the autumn of 2012. His
subsequent caps were two in Argentina in June 2013,
three in New Zealand the following summer and
others against the All Blacks, South Africa, Samoa and
Australia at Twickenham last November. His Test try
was against the Pumas at Buenos Aires two years ago.
Rob was a Yorkshire Schools javelin champion and
subsequently played rugby for England at every level
from U16 to U21, first appearing in the oldest age
group in the World Championship against Fiji in the
summer of 2006.
His other honours include being part of the Wasps A
team that lifted their respective league title, winning a
place in the club’s senior squad for 2007-08, together
with a Heineken Cup try and man of the match award
against the Scarlets at Adams Park. Playing for England
U19 in the 2004 World Championship in South Africa
was another highlight.
Rob toured North America with England Saxons in
the summer of 2008. He did not figure in the Barclays
Churchill Cup there but derived benefits with advice
from fellow hookers George Chuter and Andy
Titterrell and from specialist lineout coach Simon
Hardy.
Rob Webber in England’s
World Cup Squad
Recently, in Pocklington at least, all eyes have been
on Rob Webber (94-04) who is part of the England
World Cup squad selected by Stuart Lancaster.
Webber, the Bath hooker who played from Under
7s right through to 1st XV at the local rugby club in
Pocklington as well as for Pocklington School, won his
13th international cap against France in a pre-World
Cup warm-up match in August 2015.
After learning of his selection Rob sent a message
to friends and supporters expressing his delight and
thanking them for their congratulations, saying: “After
ten very tough weeks in camp I am honoured to have
been selected for England’s Rugby World Cup squad.
Thank you for the kind messages.”
In the run-up to the opening match, Webber along
with the rest of the England squad visited Sandhurst
to receive a special World Cup cap.That was followed
with an appearance on stage with Take That at the O2
Arena for the ‘Wear The Rose Live’ celebrity concert.
He also featured on BBCs ‘Look North’ as the first
East Yorkshire man to play in the World Cup, with
the TV crew spending a day in Pocklington recording
items about his roots at the club and Pocklington
School. He also appeared on England Rugby TV
answering questions about his England career – he
scored 8 out of 15, the highest score of the four
England players to take the challenge so far (at the
time of writing).
Everything came together on Friday 18 September
2015 when Rob got on the pitch to win his 14th
19
cap as a late replacement during England’s opening
match against Fiji at Twickenham to loud cheers from
a packed Pocklington clubhouse. England got off to
a good start winning the match 35-11and Rob later
thanked all his supporters saying: “Thank you for all
the messages of support in the build up to last night!
Incredible feeling to be a part of it.”
Rob was also a replacement during England’s second
pool match against Wales on Saturday 26 September
2015 but the team did not fare so well losing 25-28
– a significant blow to England’s World Cup campaign.
We shall watch this space! In the meantime, here is
Rob’s England player profile:
Appearing in every Premiership match in 2008-09 for
Wasps at the age of 22 was an enviable achievement
for Rob Webber, who went on to make his first senior
England tour to Australasia in June 2010. Born and
brought up in York, he attended Pocklington School
and played for the town club before moving to
Yorkshire Carnegie and spending three seasons in
their academy.
After switching to Wasps in 2005, Rob spent much of
his first campaign on loan to Blackheath but his skills
and progress through the structure were self-evident
with his appointment in August 2010 as Wasps’ joint
vice-captain alongside Dominic Waldouck for the
season that followed.
On 1 February 2012, he signed a three-year contract
with Bath Rugby and in the ten days that followed
he was an unused bench replacement for England
against Scotland at Murrayfield and then had his first
experience at Test level as a five-minute replacement
for Dylan Hartley in the 19-15 win over Italy at the
Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
The first of his seven Saxons appearances was in
the starting side for the Portugal match at Edgeley
Park in January 2009 that produced a 66-0 victory.
That summer, he started all three games in the
Churchill Cup, scored a try in the 56-17 win over the
United States at Infinity Park, Denver and came off
the bench against both the Australian Barbarians at
Gosford and New Zealand Maori in Napier during
the 2010 summer tour. He has made 123 Premiership
appearances and signed an extended contract with
Bath in November 2015.
International Record: 5 points – 1T
2012 It(R), W(R), F(R) 2013 Arg (1,2) 2014 NZ
(1,2,3R), NZ(R), SA(R), Sam, A(R), 2015 F World
Cup – Fj(R), W(R) (Dated: 27 Sept [X