Fotuali’i’s Northampton Saints provide the opposition in Swansea in Round 5, six months after the Samoan star said goodbye to Webb and co after two years in Wales.
The pair enjoyed an impressive scrap for a starting spot during their time as team-mates and now Webb could have the chance to recreate that battle if he beats Italy’s Tito Tebaldi to the Ospreys’ No9 shirt and Fotuali’i sees off the challenge off England’s Lee Dickson for the Saints.
“I’m looking forward to hopefully being involved, particularly against Northampton at the Liberty. It may be a case of going up against Kahn, who is a world class nine. These are the people you need to test yourself against. That could be interesting!” said Webb.
“Being out for so long with injury is frustrating, so it’s good to get a few starts under my belt. Hopefully I can get some form and consistency into my game quickly.
“I’m just finding myself again really. Two seasons ago I had a good spell in the team where I was starting games, there was good competition between me and Kahn and I was enjoying my rugby. Last year was more frustrating for me, I wasn’t starting as often and then got injured which kept me out at the start of this season.
“All I want to do now that I’m back from injury is keep playing for the Ospreys and make up for lost time. I want to be involved as much as I can, to keep playing and playing, and hopefully I can get back to my best and help the team in some big games, with big crowds.”
Sunday’s fixture is just that: a big game, with a big crowd expected. It’s the perfect platform for both Webb and the Ospreys to kick on, something they have both been doing in recent weeks.
Webb has been in fine form since recovering from his long-term knee injury, with his performances helping inspire the Ospreys to four successive wins since mid-December. And while the region’s hopes of making it to the last eight of the Heineken Cup appear all but over, back-to-back wins over Northampton and Leinster could yet lead to a place in the Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
“We’ve had a very busy couple of weeks but we’ve got to front up again for two more big games, Northampton and Leinster,” added Webb when speaking to the Ospreys website.
“We’ve started to put together a good little run since beating Castres at home. The derby wins have been important as well. We’re in a good place.”
