The French prop on life at Hull FC, his future, improving his game, and playing in this year’s World Cup.
Hull FC prop Hugo Salabio.
Hugo Salabio has made no secret of the fact he wants to remain at Hull FC next year, but the prop is unsure if a new deal at the Black and Whites will land at his feet.
The French forward is out of contract at the end of the season and is hoping to do enough to convince the club he is worth an extension, with Hull Live reporting last week that at least one other Super League club is interested in signing him.
Playing in Hull’s last nine games, Salabio’s performances have helped his cause, with his passion and aggression on show with some strong carries and tackles.
Beneath that, the 26-year-old is also enjoying life in Hull, even if he misses the French pastries and the beach, and by his own admission, he is enjoying the best spell of his career to date.
“I don’t have any clue at the moment, if I’m honest,” Salabio said when asked what the future holds. “But I’m happy to stay here and to stay with this group, so we’ll see.
“I’m not worried about the future. I just take the opportunity I get every week, week by week, day by day, and see what happens. That’s just my mentality. I’ve always been like this. I just take what I’ve got and you’ll see in the future what will happen so long as you do your best and try to be the best you can be every week.
“But I’m enjoying it at Hull. It’s a bit different, just the lifestyle when you live in the south of France and when you live at home, but we’ve had good weather this summer, so it’s been nice. This is probably the best club I’ve been at, too, like, in terms of fans, staff, mentality – everything is for us in this town. That’s why I like it.”
Coming into the Hull team at Leigh back in May, Salabio hasn’t looked back, impressing in stints and getting better by each performance. He also knows he has a way to go, but he’s prepared to work hard and learn his craft.
“I’m not perfect and I know I’ve got a lot of things to learn, but I just try to improve week by week and improve some details on my game,” Salabio explained. “Again, it’s about mentality and how much you want it.
“It’s my game to be aggressive and carry hard. Lasty has given me some real belief and confidence; like, the first game I played, he was always behind me, and he said, ‘Do your best, Hugo. I know you’ve got the capacity and the physical abilities to do it.’
“The boys also help me a lot and they try to push me all the time at the training. I just keep working hard and believe in myself. I think that’s why I’m part of the team. It was different at the start of the season but I’m just grateful to play week by week and improve.”
On his focuses this year, Salabio continued: “I’ve tried to limit the errors in my game because I used to play well, but I just had a couple of errors in my game and I’ve tried to remove them.
“I’ve also been working on my defence, like repeat efforts when I’m tired. Sometimes I get it wrong about the details, but I keep trying and do my best.”
That confidence is doing Salabio no harm. Born and raised in Marseille, the prop forward moved to Perpignan as a teenager, playing for Catalans in the French Championship before a Super League debut. Moves to Wakefield and Huddersfield then followed before he signed for Hull nearly two years ago.
“It was a bit different for me,” Salabio, reflecting on growing up in France, said. “To be honest, I was a lazy kid, and I didn’t want to do any sports and stuff. Then my stepdad pushed me one day and said, ‘Why not try to play rugby?’ I was like, ‘Okay, fine.’ I tried it and I stayed.
“I just like the mentality of rugby and to be part of the group. I moved to Perpignan when I was 16 or 17, and I spent six years over there. I just love it. I like to be part of a group and to feel like everyone’s got a goal at the end of the season and everyone pushes each other.”
On his time in the French Championship, which runs as a winter league, Salabio continued: “It’s quite interesting because you’ve got people retired from Super League and they’ll come to join the teams. It was good, but I think it’s a bit like the Championship here; you’ve got the top of the table, which is very good and the bottom is not that good.
“I think it’s a bit of a mix. It’s very physical; you’ve got the big forwards and a couple of the ex-stars playing in the outside backs, so it was an interesting league to play in.”
That French connection is not lost on Salabio. His English is excellent and may fool you, but he’s a proud France forward and is aiming to represent his country in the World Cup this autumn.
“I want to go to the World Cup at the end of the season, so it’s a big, big, big year for me,” Salabio said. “That’s my number one goal and it was my number one goal when I started this season. I’m looking forward to this one and hopefully I’ll be part of the team this year.”
In the meantime, the prop is focused on playing well for a struggling Hull side and finishing the Super League season strong.
“I think we are a confident team,” he added. “We just, maybe, miss details sometimes in our game. We’ve got a pretty good group. I don’t think it’s a lack of confidence; just concentration or focus is our problem sometimes, but we’ll fix that in the future.
“I’m sure we’ll be back. The fans are outstanding here and we have to give them a response. We’ve got everything we need to be good. It’s just about time now.”