Hughes named Aviva Premiership Player of the Month

Wasps' No 8 Nathan Hughes was today acclaimed as a "sensational athlete” as he was named Aviva Premiership Rugby Player of the Month for November.

Hughes was in stunning form through the month of November as Wasps won both their matches in Aviva Premiership Rugby and beat Leinster and Toulon in the European Rugby Champions Cup.

BT Sport analyst Austin Healey, the former England scrum-half believes that Hughes could also be just the boost English rugby needs as it emerges from the Rugby World Cup.

"By the end of November he had carried the ball more than any other player in Aviva Premiership Rugby with 72 and his clean breaks, metres, offloads and turnover numbers read like an NFL running back" said Healey.

"He really is a sensational athlete and deserved winner of the Aviva Premiership Rugby Player of the Month. As a proud Englishman I can't wait to see him singing God Save The Queen in a white shirt.”

Hughes, who was one of the two runners-up in October, beat an impressive shortlist of Owen Farrell (Saracens), Charles Piutau (Wasps) and Maro Itoje (Saracens) to win the second monthly award of the season.

Rugby fans also had their say on who deserved to win the coveted Aviva Premiership Rugby Player of the Month Award, as they became the 10th Judge. Joining the panel of nine judges, fans voted for the player that had impressed them the most during the month of November.

As well as securing a sizeable fans' vote, Hughes was voted for by a panel of media professionals – Nick Mullins (BT Sport), Alastair Eykyn (BT Sport), Mick Cleary (The Daily Telegraph), Steve James (The Sunday Telegraph), Sarah Mockford (Rugby World), Jill Douglas (ITV Sport), Chris Jones (BBC 5 Live), David Rogers (Getty Images) and Ben Coles (Planet Rugby). The panel was chaired by Paul Morgan, Premiership Rugby's Communications Director.

Hughes wins a trophy and £250 to donate to a charity of his choice.