Fijian-born Wasps number eight Nathan Hughes has now qualified for England on residency grounds. He has made a huge impact in his time at Wasps so far, but what exactly makes him an attractive option to England head coach Eddie Jones?
We give you three videos which showcase his abilities and why he will definitely play for England.
As Eddie Jones said recently (via The Telegraph):
“I’ll probably look at him more as a six than an eight, but certainly he’s a guy that’s got something that you can coach. His ball-carrying is something that you can’t coach, which gives him a head start and if he can pick up in his other areas then he is going to be a pretty handy player.”
1) He’s powerful
Brad Barritt is one of the best defenders in the world, never mind the Premiership. Here, Hughes smashes him backwards which is a pretty rare sight. He’s done this time and again for Wasps in the past few seasons. Imagine a back row featuring a combination of Billy Vunipola and Nathan Hughes…
2) He has great awareness
It’s all well and good being able to run through a few tackles, but if you lack the awareness to see the players and the opportunities around you then you’re not going to make it at international level where every chance needs to be taken. Hughes has worked on this aspect of his game and it is improving all the time.
3) He sucks in defenders
With someone of his power and ball carrying abilities it means he’s a hard man to put down, which in turn sees two or three tacklers busy trying to bring him down. That creates opportunities for players across the field. What could the likes of England with that little bit more space provided to them?
It will be a huge surprise to everyone if Hughes is not selected in the next EPS squad announced in October. He has enormous potential and could well be facing Argentina, Australia, South Africa and his native Fiji on 19th November.
Paul Wassell, Pundit Arena
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