Crossword Genius

What was tender of Italians welcoming British stars? (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

libra

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'stars?' is the definition.
(I know that Libra is a constellation)

'what was tender of italians welcoming british' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'british' could be 'br' (abbreviation for British) and 'br' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'lia' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for libra that I've seen before include "Seventh sign of the Zodiac" , "Constellation near Virgo" , "Zodiac sign of the scales" , "stars" , "Scales constellation" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph and The Independent.
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