Steff Hughes: New Dragons centre hopes for fresh beginning after lonely summer

Steff Hughes made more than 100 appearances for Scarlets

New Dragons centre Steff Hughes is hoping he will now reap the rewards after a lonely summer.

Hughes has signed a short-term contract and scored a try on his Dragons debut last weekend against Benetton.

The 28-year-old was released by Scarlets and spent the summer training at his local rugby ground.

"It was just a case of training on my own, it was basically just me running on my own at the local pitch every day for two or three months," said Hughes.

"I'm glad I did that because I gave myself the opportunity to come in here fit and ready to go. I didn't need to catch up on anything.

"I had support from a few people I'd worked with in the past around programmes and things.

"The skills stuff was a bit of a challenge on my own. I had a couple of friends and my brother helped me out, which was great.

"It was a challenging summer but having come out the other end, I'm glad I dug in and worked hard because hopefully it's put me in a good place moving forward."

Hughes has been brought in as short-term injury cover for the likes of Aneurin Owen.

He admits it took a while to be picked up by another club after being released by Scarlets having fallen out of favour under Dwayne Peel.

"I didn't get paid for four or five months during the summer," said Hughes.

"That's difficult because I had a mortgage and bills to pay, you've got to eat. It is tough, there's no two ways about it.

"I finished up at the Scarlets in June and took three or four weeks off.

"I was in contact with different clubs but the market this year was difficult - as you can see with what's happening in England at the minute - and clubs are tightening up on players."

Hughes admitted the experience tested him: "I'm in a privileged position to play rugby for a living and I don't take that for granted at any time.

"I've had some brilliant experiences over the years and met some great people. When you put it all into perspective, it's not the be all and end all.

"But it is difficult because from the age of 15 I've been in a professional environment, everything I've known is rugby and I feel like I've been playing the best rugby of my career over the last couple of years.

"It's difficult not having a job and waiting. Having to get up every morning and train on your own, knowing that other people are training in an environment [is tough].

"But it makes you stronger mentally. You either make the most of it or you sit, dwell and feel sorry for yourself.

"If I'd done that, I probably wouldn't be in a good condition to come in here and make an impression.

"It's difficult because you know what you've given over a long period of time. But in the grand scheme of things, you try and keep everything in perspective."

Hughes has again been able to link up with his former Scarlets boss Dai Flanagan who is now head coach at the Dragons.

"Dai was at the Scarlets for five years while I was there," said Hughes.

"He was an academy skills coach when I was there and we worked together a lot there, then with the 'A' team and then the senior team.

"I know Dai well and from a selfish point of view it's brilliant to have him to help me transition smoothly into the team.

"His ideas are similar to what I've worked with before. Hopefully we can keep building on the relationship we've already got."