Hooker Rob Webber keen for Bath Rugby to match old club Wasps" trophy sting

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If Bath Rugby are seeking a model for success, they could do worse than take a close look at this weekend’s opponents, Wasps.

The two sides do battle in the Amlin Cup semi-finals at the Londoners’ Adam Park home in High Wycombe on Sunday.

Bath hooker Rob Webber was coming through the Wasps ranks when they won their second Heineken Cup in 2007 and was a fully-fledged member of the first-team squad by the time they last lifted the Premiership title a year later.

Wasps’ fortunes have faded in recent years and they nearly dropped out of the top flight in the 2011-12 season, with Webber leaving the club for Bath that summer.

But they still have plenty of pedigree when it comes to the biggest matches and Webber hopes Bath are able to replicate that themselves in the coming seasons.

“Winning trophies is infectious,” said the 27-year-old.

“When I was at Wasps the expectation was to win trophies. That’s where Bath want to go now.

“It’s knockout rugby, it’s Europe and, as I know very well, Wasps have got a huge history in Europe in relatively recent times.

“They’ve won this competition before and that was the catalyst for four or five years of complete success for them.

“This is an opportunity for this club and this town to win silverware, and one we want to fulfil. Our aim has always been to get silverware as soon as we can.

“We’re probably ahead of where we thought we would be but now it’s here, we want to try and grab it.”

Bath have beaten Wasps twice already this season, with last November’s 28-5 victory in the Premiership at Adams Park their first at the ground for five years.

Webber said: “It has been a fortress for Wasps over the years and a tough place to go. They really pride themselves there and we’ll have to go up fully switched on and ready for a big game.

“It was a tough afternoon. That game was very, very close but we managed to get one or two scores in quick succession and closed it out.

“We saw when they came to The Rec a few weeks ago it was a lot tighter and they have improved hugely.

“They’ve got Tom Varndell back in the ranks and he is incredibly dangerous. Elliot Daly is absolutely fantastic and their back-row was superb at the weekend.

“But this is where we want to be. We’ve got ourselves in this position due to the previous eight months’ work and people are relishing it.”

Webber returned to the Bath matchday squad last weekend after ten weeks out with an ankle injury.

Had he needed surgery, the five-cap England international would have been unlikely to play again this season.

“I was delighted to be back involved, it is very frustrating to be on the sidelines,” said Webber.

“The ligaments on both sides of my ankle went but luckily there was enough still hanging on that meant I didn’t need an operation.

“I was looked after very well. The medics did a great job and I’ve come back a few weeks early, so I am chuffed.

“I gave the lads some stick and said make sure we are there or thereabouts when I am back and fair play to them, they are.

“Ross Batty has been fantastic in my absence. He’s put in a hell of a shift, playing 80 minutes most weeks.”

Article source: http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/other-sports/349109/Rugby-Union-Shaun-Edwards-savouring-Springbok-clash

Hooker Rob Webber keen for Bath Rugby to match old club Wasps" trophy sting