Hughes hails Chiefs talent pool

 

It wasn't long after Adam Hughes arrived at Exeter Chiefs that he began to hear tales of last season’s historic LV= Cup triumph.

The Chiefs’ first major trophy in their 143-year history – clinched in front of the Sandy Park faithful in March – was a landmark moment for Rob Baxter’s men.

At the time Hughes was plying his trade in the Championship with Bristol, safe in the knowledge that come the start of the following season he would be an Exeter player.

And he was able to watch on as his future employers saw off soon-to-be Aviva Premiership champions Northampton, with Dean Mumm and the now-retired Chris Whitehead each crossing over en route to victory.

The task of repeating the feat this time around is no easy one, but the way the Chiefs continue to churn out talent will no doubt aid the cause.

Hughes – a utility back not short of versatility – will be eyeing up a number of ways into the senior setup at Sandy Park, following a try-scoring debut in Bayonne.

But with home-grown talent like Jack Nowell, Sam Hill, Henry Slade, Jack Arnott and more standing firm, the 24-year-old knows the LV= Cup is an opportunity not to be wasted.

"It is quite eye-opening, the amount of talent there is in the Exeter squad," said the former Newport-Gwent Dragons man, who hopes to feature as the Chiefs get their LV= Cup defence under way against Gloucester on Saturday.

"To see the guys like Henry Slade and Sam Hill, they are very, very good players who will go on and get lots of international caps.

"When you have got players who are playing as well as they are, you can't get too frustrated by it and the LV= Cup is a great competition for someone like me.

"They do talk about last year a lot – that was massive for the club and the fans. Everyone loves rugby here – it's a huge rugby town and a trophy was huge for them. It is definitely something they would want to keep; I don't think anyone would want to give a trophy back."

And while the aforementioned graduates of Exeter's formidable production line are now well-established in the first team, Hughes expects a new generation to shine through in this year's LV= Cup.

"The academy train with the first team all the time down here and with the A League it has gone really well this year as well," he added.

"Max Bodilly has looked really good in the A team so far, then there is Stuart Townsend and Joel Conlon, who are both Under-20 World Cup winners, so there is plenty of talent knocking about. But I will hopefully press my claims for a place both in Europe and the LV= Cup. Hopefully I can lay a claim down and then stay in the team."