Steff Hughes is relishing his first taste of an East Wales derby – and called on Dragons to show what they are capable of away from home.
Hughes, 28, played in many West Wales derby games during his time with the Scarlets.
Now with the Men of Gwent as short-term injury cover, the centre is named among the replacements for the big clash at Cardiff Arms Park this evening (kick-off 5.15pm).
And Hughes is eager to get involved once again and continue his eye-catching involvement with his new club.
“A Welsh derby is a Welsh derby – it is intense and really physical,” said Hughes. “I’m looking forward to being part of an East Wales derby.
‘We know what Cardiff are capable of and they are a good team. They are very competitive, especially around the breakdown, and they play high tempo. There is a lot of stuff we need to get right.
“But we also want to impose ourselves on the game as well.
“We want that away win,” he added. “It is huge. We want to change the mindset about how we play away from home, change the perception of us away from home.
“There are quality players here and we have an opportunity this week to show what we can do.
“Make sure that emotionally we are there, but also from a tactical point of view, we must execute what we want to.”
Hughes made his debut last weekend against Benetton In Treviso and scored a try during an impressive second half show.
And he is hoping his time at Dragons will be in the long-term.
“If I can keep playing well, perform well in training and add to the environment on and off the field, hopefully I can stay a bit longer,” he said.
“It’s been nice to be back in the rugby environment.
“It was a tricky summer, I trained a lot of my own, but I’m glad that I dug in during that period and it felt good last week (against Benetton).
“The result wasn’t what we were hoping for, but from a personal perspective I was pleased to get back out on the field.
“I won’t score any easier tries in my career, so I was happy with that too!
“I am only 28 and I feel I can offer a lot to a tea and rugby. I have a lot of experience too,” he added.
“I’ve been made to feel really welcome. I feel part of the squad and to play last week was brilliant. Hopefully I can kick on from here.”
Hughes battled for action with Wales internationals Jonathan Davies, Scott Williams, Johnny Williams and Tyler Morgan last season.
And he acknowledges the competition is just as fierce in the east.
“I’ve enjoyed working with different people,” he said.
“I played two years with Jack Dixon for Wales Under-20s and it's been great to get to know Sio Tomkinson, who is a quality player with experience in New Zealand.
“I played with Max Clark last week and that was enjoyable while Aneurin Owen is an exciting player and is so enthusiastic.
“There’s Cory Allen as well, who hasn’t had the time on the field that he would want yet but his knowledge is excellent.
“It's great to share experiences, pick little bits out of each other’s games and converse about it. It's a real position of strength here.”
We want that away win... We want to change the mindset about how we play away from home, change the perception of us away from home...
