'When you have a big No.8, you have good teams': Jake White

Former England international Nathan Hughes will play his first game of international rugby for just over seven years when he makes his debut for Fiji against France on Saturday evening.

And Fiji head coach Jake White insists he has no qualms about reintroducing the 115kg bruiser to the Test arena after such a long absence.

“Look, I think Nathan has done really well for Racing. The talk here in France is that he has played really well, and when he has played, he has carried well,” the South African told Fiji Village.

“We have got Peceli Yato on the bench that can cover 8 as well, and there are not many teams in the world that can start with Hughes and then bring Yato off the bench. And if you consider there’s no (Viliame) Mata involved in this tour, it is a strength of Fiji to have that kind of No.8.

“Just from my experience, when you’ve had big No.8s, that kind of No.8, you have good teams. You look at (Lawrence) Dallaglio playing, you look at Danie Rossouw playing, you look at Duane Vermeulen, all the No.8s who’ve played in World Cups, they have had that kind of similar skillset.”

The 35-year-old, whose 22nd and last cap for England was the 38-38 Six Nations thriller against Scotland in 2019, is eligible to swap one white jersey for another and play for Fiji as he’s served the three-year stand down period and has sufficient Fijian heritage, enabling a switch a Test allegiance.

“I’m quite keen to see Nathan. I know it’s his first cap for Fiji, but he has played for England and he has played Test rugby,” White added.

“So, I think he’ll be fine. I think he’ll fit in nicely. He complements the rest of the team.

“In (Mesake) Vocevoce, we have a really good athlete who plays lock. So, whatever we lose from a speed point of view, and I am not saying for one minute that Nathan is not quick enough. But whatever people have fears about his pace around the field, we’ve got probably two locks who are quicker than most other locks in world rugby.”

Hughes is joined in the starting line-up by club teammate, winger Selestino Ravutaumada, but France haven’t got a single Racing player in their XV.