HELPING to fire Bristol into the Premiership big time is the only pick-me-up Nathan Hughes needs after his England snub, insists Ashton Gate boss Pat Lam.
Hughes had been a permanent fixture in England squads since being given his debut by Eddie Jones against South Africa in 2016. But that did not prevent the bullocking back rower being axed by the ruthless Red Rose supremo ahead of the World Cup.
However, his availability is an unexpected bonus for Bristol and Lam, who told The Rugby Paper: “Of course he's disappointed, all players are when they're not selected for teams, but that doesn't detract from the quality of the guy and he's come in buzzing.
“He and Dave Attwood have slotted in very well and no matter how young, old or experienced you are, when you come to a new club you're always eager to make an impression. What I'm really pleased about is that the existing guys have welcomed them with open arms.
“These guys are adding value already on and off the field, which is great. It's always one man's opinion when it comes to selection and Nathan is experienced and intelligent enough to remain positive, so there's no sense of having to rebuild him mentally.”
Along with Attwood, below, who joins from Bath, Lam expects former Wasps man Hughes to make a huge impact as Bristol set their sights on making next season's playoffs – something Samoan legend Lam believes is well within their capabilities.
He added: “We were running through some new plays the other day and I was standing as a defender with Nathan running at me. I wasn't actually doing any tackling but he built up some pace and I'm thinking, ‘Thank goodness I'm not playing this game!'.
“He brings huge power and size, which is exactly what I bought him for, and he's a very good set-piece operator as well. It's exactly the same with Dave Attwood and they're two big, experienced men who know what it takes to play at the highest level.”
Just like last season, Bristol will kick off their league programme at home to bitter local rivals Bath with a chance to reprise last year's 17-10 opening day victory.
“It's a fantastic fixture,” Lam enthused. “If you asked anyone in our team, or management or supporters, who you'd want to start off against after last season, to have Bath at Ashton Gate to kick-off the Premiership campaign is just awesome.
“It was a wonderful occasion last year – full house – and all the people who were there will be snapping up their tickets and thinking ‘great, let's go back'. Both teams are a year older and wiser and I'm really pleased with how it's panned out.”
Lam believes Bristol will be anything between ten and 20 per cent fitter this season as they look to close the gap on Exeter and Saracens and move on the top four.
He explained: “Exeter and Saracens finished way ahead of everyone but we're going to aim to shut that gap and we've got another year under our belts.
“We finished just five points off the top four last season, which was frustrating because we know how many points we blew in matches we should have won. But it also gives us confidence that we're not far off – and that's the message to our boys.
