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Tue 22 Dec 2015 | 03:18
Number eight Nathan Hughes bumps off flyhalf George Ford with big carry

8
Comments

Hard running Wasps number eight Nathan Hughes sat down George Ford with this great carry recently. While it was only a diminutive flyhalf in the path of the Aviva Premiership Player of the Month for November, it was still good to see a big man doing exactly what the beautiful sport of rugby allows him to do - assert his dominance to flatten someone far smaller.

The 24-year-old Fijian born forward becomes eligible to play for England in 2016, but could also play for Fiji or Samoa. His club career with Wasps is on the upward curve so if he continues this kind of form, he may well appear in the white jersey of his adopted country sometime soon.

View more clips of Hughes in action in his Premiership Player of the Month compilation

Posted By: Grant Constable

8 Comments

  • stroudos
    10:22 AM 29/12/2015

    Definitely.

  • jimmy23
    6:44 PM 23/12/2015

    Whilst Hughes is getting the attention with this, I think Matawalu's effort against Johnson is being a bit overlooked here. It's pretty good effort from the wee lad.

  • facepalm
    12:24 PM 23/12/2015

    Interesting how there's only talk of Wasps players getting an England call up now that the club's doing well. It shouldn't be that good players are hindered because of the lack of success for their club. Likewise it shouldn't be that average players are propelled into the England setup because their club's doing well.

    Imagine for a second, that in his brief Union stint, Joel Tomkins played for Wasps and Elliot Daly for Saracens. Who would have more England caps? The same case can be made for so many players.

  • stroudos
    9:39 AM 23/12/2015

    I've often advocated in favour of an England backline featuring both Ford and Eastmond. Although I don't really remember seeing either of them embarrassed in defence before, I suppose this passage of play illustrates why that selection might not be a brilliant idea...

    Some pretty formidable ball carriers in this Wasps side. Deal with Hughes, then you've got to defend a rampaging Johnson. Deal with him and you've still got Matt Banahanahan running a your smaller guys.

  • stroudos
    9:36 AM 23/12/2015

    Commentator at the moment of the bump-off sounds like a clucking hen.

  • stroudos
    9:36 AM 23/12/2015

    RD, I love the still you've used - looks like Hughes has just decked Ford with a big upper-cut.

  • stroudos
    9:32 AM 23/12/2015

    What I enjoyed most about this was how, after bowling Ford, Hughes completely ignored the big gap that had opened up (behind Ford) as a result, and instead deliberately sought the collision with Eastmond. Why settle for smashing one lightweight back when you can get two for the price of one!

  • jimmy23
    8:24 AM 23/12/2015

    Credit to Ford for giving it a go. As a fellow small man, it's always a bit of a "oh f*ck" moment when you see someone twice your size charging at you with the same look in their eyes as I imagine a Lion has when charging at a Gazelle.

    As much as I would love to see Hughes play for England cause of how damn good he is, I've never been a fan of this 3 year residency thing. Nothing against the lad and I will of course give my support if he does end up getting picked but considering our player pool it just seems a bit off that we often rely on this.

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