He's an 80 minute back rower and he plays his best stuff when given a lot of time. Good game yesterday.

Lots of young forwards make their way into the first team, play plenty of games and impress and then have a spell where their progression slows. It took Joel Tomkins a while from his debut to properly establish himself as a top second row. He had some less than impressive years. Liam Farrell had one slightly disappointing year.

Last season Hughes did pretty well early on when covering for Hansen. Then during the middle of the year his form dropped and he struggled. His last few games and his performance for the England Knights were outstanding.

This season he started with an injury. There are so many examples it's impossible to count where players have struggled when they've been injured during the off season.

Hughes is a talented player with plenty of potential and he could become an excellent back row. He's just turned 22 this year, that's still very young for a forward. He should have at least a decade of rugby ahead of him and so it's definitely worth persevering with him. He's put in some excellent performances and we know he's not matched that so far this year but he's got a lot more to offer without a doubt.