Webber gets his chance to impress at last

Yorkshireman Rob Webber has earned praise for his patience after being handed only the fifth international start of his career.
England's Rob WebberEngland's Rob Webber
England's Rob Webber

The Pocklington-born hooker, who plays his club rugby for Bath, won his ninth and 10th caps as a replacement from the bench in the first two Tests of the autumn series.

But after Dylan Hartley’s senseless sin-binning against South Africa, Webber, 28, has won his first start since the opening two games of the summer tour to New Zealand.

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And he has been praised by Stuart Lancaster for winning back his shirt.

Lancaster said: “Rob Webber has waited patiently, he’s been excellent in training and he gets his chance.

“The team that played against New Zealand deserved a second chance.

“I thought that whilst some players improved on the previous performance there were one or two areas where I felt it wasn’t quite as good as I would have hoped and as a consequence it gets a chance to look at other players.

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“Rob is a case in point, as is Ben Morgan and George Ford as well.”

England: Brown, Watson, Barritt, Farrell, May, Ford, Youngs; Marler, Webber, Wilson, Attwood, Lawes, Haskell, Robshaw, Morgan.

Replacements: Hartley, M Mullan, Brookes, Kruis, Wood, Wigglesworth, Twelvetrees, Yarde.