Potential England powerhouse Nathan Hughes has agreed to sign a contract extension with current employers London Wasps.
The flanker has been hugely impressive in the Aviva Premiership and was approached by Fiji to participate in the 2015 World Cup. However, Hughes rejected the offer in favour of waiting to be eligible for England selection, which he will qualify for in June.
And following the news that experienced England international James Haskell has also committed his future to the club, the extension by 24-year-old Hughes will certainly please the hierarchy at the London-based club.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Hughes said:
I’m really excited to have signed a new contract with Wasps as I can see the direction the club is going in.
I really appreciate Dai giving me the opportunity to come here and over the past two years it has been a great club to be part of.
We have secured our own home and have seen some really exciting players joining Wasps and I really want to be part of the club moving forwards.
We know success won’t happen overnight and there is a lot of work to do, but long-term we really want to be a squad winning silverware – that has to be the ambition.
In my first year we finished 7th and reached the European play-off against Stade Francais, last season we finished 6th and reached the quarter final, so we really want to continue that progress.
We know we need to improve our league form and get consistency in our game, so that will be our focus during the second part of the season.
The Hughes deal had to be done quickly according to the Director of Rugby:
We are thrilled Nathan has committed his future to Wasps: it was a no-brainer offering him a new contract and I’m sure a number of other clubs would have been tracking his progress closely.
