Wasps’ Nathan Hughes makes Premiership switch to Bristol Bears

Bristol Bears have confirmed the signing of Nathan Hughes who will leave Wasps for Ashton Gate at the end of the season.
The England international no.8 has penned a three-year deal to move to the West Country and in doing so delivers a double hammer blow to Wasps, who have also confirmed full-back Willie le Roux will be leaving the club.
With 18 England caps to his name, Hughes explained how a chat with Bears head coach Pat Lam attracted him to the cross-Premiership switch.
“When I talked to Pat about the direction of the club and the ambition at Bristol, it really excited me.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of guys there and they have been really positive about the environment and the unbelievable support for the Bears in the city.
“There’s still a lot I want to achieve and the quality of coaching and the squad at Bristol means that everything is in place to be successful.”

😃 This one is so good even Meg Ryan appreciates it 🔥

UP THE BEARS! 🐻 #WhenHughesyMetSally pic.twitter.com/kLuXzrGStb

— Bristol Bears (@BristolBears) January 15, 2019

Bristol sit tenth in the Premiership table and know a win over Enisei-STM this coming Saturday would grant them passage into the Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
Lam said: “It’s tremendous to secure Nathan’s signing and to see how excited he is about coming to Bristol and helping us realise our vision.
“He’s a quality rugby player who brings physicality, power and brute strength to our game.
“We are striving to be a Champions Cup team and a player of Nathan’s quality can help us along our journey, on and off the field.”