Cuthbert to leave Blues.

[ALunpg]

Whilst it is always dissapointing to see players who have reached the standard that Alex Cuthbert attained leaving the Blues, it is totally understandable.
Whether he leaves Welsh Rugby in total is not clear but most likely and also not really suprising. I hope the change rekindles his form and makes playing rugby an enjoyable experience as it certainly seems not to be for a few seasons.
He has been a great player for Wales and the Blues and will hopefully be that again at his new club.

[Sandydragon]

Like Priestland, some time away from the gold fish bowl could do him a lot of good.

[Tre]

Like Priestland the amount of shit directed towards him on this forum alone has been way OTT

[PoolerSaint]

An excellent player on form, the abuse he's got is awful.
Getting selected for your country is the ultimate accolade. Cuthbert was selected on occasion while in horrible club form, but none of that is his fault.
The blame lies solely with Gatland & co.
Hope he enjoys his time away from the goldfish bowl of Welsh rugby. Just a shame when he does regain his top form we won't see him in a Welsh shirt again.

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[Spiffy]

Cuthbert has always been a bit of an enigma. Most would agree he is a tad short on basic skills, yet a strike rate of 16 tries in 47 games for Wales is pretty good. At his best, a big, powerful and fast wing for Wales who often came up with a crucial score for the team. You have to wonder if better coaching would have got more out of him, optimized his talent and nailed him on as a starter. He seems to have been around for a long time but is still only 27. Good luck to him wherever he goes. A few seasons ago it looked as though Cuthbert/North could be a dream pairing for Wales.

[Sandydragon]

Like Priestland the amount of shit directed towards him on this forum alone has been way OTT

He has been criticised on most forums when out of form. Ultimately it’s not his fault if selected to lay for Wales when off form and it’s not like he hasn’t tried. But criticising his selection and highlighting his faults is fair game, abuse of him personally isn’t. Sadly some people can’t understand that.

[Sandydragon]

Cuthbert has always been a bit of an enigma. Most would agree he is a tad short on basic skills, yet a strike rate of 16 tries in 47 games for Wales is pretty good. At his best, a big, powerful and fast wing for Wales who often came up with a crucial score for the team. You have to wonder if better coaching would have got more out of him, optimized his talent and nailed him on as a starter. He seems to have been around for a long time but is still only 27. Good luck to him wherever he goes. A few seasons ago it looked as though Cuthbert/North could be a dream pairing for Wales.

With ball in hand and a bit of space he was deadly. IIRC, he came to the game quite late and thus had flaws in his game. Sadly they have never been addressed. However, in a failure to develop issues in his game he is not alone. North’s defence is still poor. If they were Kiwis neither would have a fraction of the caps they now have without significant improvement in their all round game.

My biggest concern with Gatland picking players out of form is the bad message it sends to unpicked players who are playing well but don’t get a chance.