APPROPRIATELY after captaining Newport Gwent Dragons in their testing Anglo-Welsh Cup clash against Newcastle at a sodden Rodney Parade, wing/centre Adam Hughes believed he's prospering from being chucked back in at the deep end.

The 26-year-old made his return from a pre-season concussion as a replacement in the European Rugby Challenge Cup clash with Enisei-STM on January 13 and started on the wing in the encounters with Brive and the Falcons.

Hughes' comeback has been a boon for a Dragons side without injured speedsters Ashton Hewitt and Hallam Amos and the popular back hopes to enjoy more minutes when the Dragons travel to Kingsholm on Saturday to face Gloucester.

"Having to start away at Brive and being chucked straight back in has been the best thing for me after the type of injury that I had," he said.

"It builds confidence really quickly and match fitness. I would love to keep the continuity and momentum going at Gloucester because I feel like I am improving through the weeks.

"I've had my third week playing now and I am just about getting the hang of the game again and making fewer mistakes."

While some would have looked at the heavy Parade pitch on Sunday and fancied staying under cover, Hughes was thrilled to be out in the wind and the rain after five months out, especially as he was the skipper.

He said: "It's better to be rolling around in the mud than on the sidelines! What a game to have as a first as a captain!

"It was a huge privilege, I was hugely thankful for the opportunity and I enjoyed it but it was a tough game to be captain for.

"You have to get all the boys heads on when there was a bit of indecision about whether the game was going to go ahead but when it was confirmed the referee we did it really well, and it showed at the start that we were ready to go because we played well for the first 20 minutes.

"The conditions did make it a lottery but we didn't make it easy for ourselves and it turned into a bit of an arm wrestle against a very strong Newcastle team."

Hughes and opposite number Will Welch were called in by referee Gareth John to be told that the game was being called off with 12 minutes remaining.

The Falcons were leading 18-6 and the results stands, meaning the Gloucester game is a dead rubber this weekend.

However, with a challenge block of Guinness PRO12 fixtures looming, Hughes believes repeating last season's stunning Challenge Cup quarter-final success at Kingsholm would provide the Dragons, who are yet to win away this season, with a shot in the arm.

He said: "It's a huge game because we've got a pretty tough block of league fixtures coming up and need to build a bit of momentum and confidence.

"We won at Gloucester last season and can hopefully do it again. We will all remember that quarter-final for years to come with the amount of fans we took there, them taking over 'the Shed', then celebrating together afterwards.

"We go there with no fears, why can't we do it again?"