Hughes targets big season ahead

Exeter’s Adam Hughes has admitted his first season at Sandy Park was a “big learning curve” for him as he adjusted to life with the Chiefs and the demands of the Aviva Premiership.

As one of a handful of fresh-faced arrivals brought in by head coach Rob Baxter last summer, the Welshman knew almost instantly he had been thrust into a testing new environment in Devon.

Having spent much of his professional career with the Newport-Gwent Dragons, the 25-year-old knew the time had come for a fresh challenge – and having spent a brief spell on loan with Championship side Bristol – the Chiefs offered him the ideal opportunity to try something new.

And 12 months down the line, the Newport-born back says he’s well entrenched in Chiefs life and fully aware of what is needed to succeed at the top end of the English and European game.

“It has been a big learning curve for me – the last 12 months especially,” said Hughes. “I’ve been getting used to the ethos of the club, how they do thing and how they go about things. I’ve really learned a lot and I am looking forward to my second season.”

With competition for places ‘red-hot’ across the Exeter back division, Hughes knows that the upcoming pre-season offers him the chance to lay down his own marker with the coaches – particularly as one or two of his rivals will be away with their countries ahead of this autumn’s Rugby World Cup.

“It looks like there are quite a few backs that are going to be involved in this World Cup, so there are going to be spaces freed up and it is up to people like me to take those opportunities,” added Hughes, who scored four tries in nine first team appearances last season.

“There will be opportunities in Premiership games where we will be able to put our hands up for selection.”

Although niggly injuries curtailed parts of Hughes’ maiden season with the Chiefs, the player himself was content with what he achieved – both in training and in matches – when he was available for selection.

“I am pleased with the performance I put in and the games I played,” he said. “Ideally, I would like to have been available for more games and played a few more, but when I did play I was happy with it and how the year went and how much I learned.”

In what was a fantastic season for the Chiefs, Hughes not only played his part in helping the club reach a second successive LV= Cup Final, but he was also prominent as Exeter reached their first-ever European semi-final.

“It was awesome to be involved,” continued Hughes. “To come to a club like the Chiefs, win as many games as we did and do as well as we did in all competitions, it was great to be a part of and it made the season fun.”

And Hughes admits his switch from the Principality showed the relentless nature of rugby life for Premiership clubs.

“It is different in England – it is very intense and very physical and you can’t switch off for a second. That is the one thing I learned in the Premiership – you have to be switched on constantly and you have to be able to just run and run and run.”

Certainly Hughes and his Exeter team-mates will have plenty of chance to get up to speed as they all prepare to report back in for pre-season training next Monday at Topsham.

For any player the thought of pre-season is a necessary evil, but Hughes knows what is coming and is ready to get stuck into the fray from day one.

He said: “There is a cautious look towards it, but you look forward to it because you know you are going to get fit and strong and ready for the new season. A lot of boys will stay fit during the off-season and it is then a case of getting even fitter in pre-season.

“You finish the season and then you probably give yourself a week to two weeks off, but then it back to it again and you then follow a rigorous training regime. You enter pre-season to be as fit as you can and you just get fitter during pre-season so you hit the season in optimum shape.”