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Pat Lam's sage advice for snubbed England No.8 Hughes
Bristol boss Pat Lam praised discarded England No.8 Nathan Hughes’ man-of-the-match display in a 34-16 Gallagher Premiership victory over Gloucester.
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Hughes has not added to his 22 Test caps since March last year, and he remains out in the cold despite England losing Billy Vunipola for forthcoming Guinness Six Nations games due to a broken arm.
With Vunipola sidelined, there is no specialist No.8 in head coach Eddie Jones’ England squad as he prepares for a Six Nations opener against France in eight days.
“I was pleased for Nathan,” Lam said. “All he can do is keep playing well. A lot revolves around Billy, and it’s a massive blow, I believe.
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WATCH: Head coach Eddie Jones and captain Owen Farrell hold a press conference in London ahead of the start of the Six Nations tournament.
“Billy is that type of player, which is what Nathan is. All he can do is just keep putting his name in the hat by playing well for us.”
Hughes, 28, excelled in an outstanding Bristol back-row alongside Steven Luatua and Dan Thomas, and Lam added: “Loose forwards are a trio, and we have been really emphasising that to all our back-row forwards.
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“If you look at all the best back-row combinations, they all have a really good understanding, and these guys are growing that.”
Bristol ended a run of three successive league defeats by sweeping aside their west country rivals.
Welshman Callum Sheedy was the architect, kicking 19 points, including the conversion of wing Henry Purdy’s try against his former club.
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Full-back Luke Morahan confirmed a comprehensive win by touching down 11 minutes from time as Bristol were rewarded for their relentless pressure.
Substitute Mat Protheroe added a third Bristol try – again converted by Sheedy – to put the seal on an impressive display.
“We got quick ball and there were lots of opportunities, so it was about just attacking directly and not throwing miss-passes and long balls,” Lam said.
In years gone by, losing Vunipola would have been a death knell to England's Six Nations ambitions. Not so anymore, despite no recognised No 8s in the squad. England are good for now, but they need a deputy. https://t.co/8SRqmwDycd
— Alex Shaw (@alexshawsport) January 24, 2020
“I am frustrated that we gave away nine silly points by guys doing wrong jobs in the wrong place, but we put them under a lot more pressure in the second half.
“While the win was good, and the boys might have thought they would have Monday off after that, I said I would have given it to them if they had got a bonus point.
“There were opportunities we certainly left out there.”
Owen Williams booted three penalties for Gloucester, while Billy Twelvetrees converted Freddie Clarke’s late try, but they failed to close the gap on second-placed Northampton after being outgunned in most departments.
The 'elephant in the room' has been addressed. https://t.co/Bn7ziMNjjz
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 24, 2020
Gloucester head coach Johan Ackermann said: “We never really got into the game in the first half, and they had 70-odd per cent territory and possession, which sapped the energy out of us.
“Bristol were outstanding with the ball, especially in the second half.
“The penalty-count has been a concern for the last couple of weeks, our discipline and the penalties we are conceding.
“Poor discipline was probably the cause of us not getting possession and not being able to put any pressure on them. It is something that has hampered us in the last few weeks.
“To me, the errors we make are silly errors. We never really got our attack going.”
Press Association
Comments on RugbyPass
Lets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
10 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
10 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to comments