One of Wales ’ modern-day heroes could find himself back in international contention as Alex Cuthbert returns to play with Ospreys this season, now a decade removed from his Test debut.
After spending three seasons in the English Premiership with Exeter Chiefs, the former Cardiff winger returns to Wales having won both that title and a European Rugby Champions Cup.
It was back in 2011 that Cuthbert first exploded onto the international stage, scoring four tries in his first six Wales starts and eventually earning a call-up for the 2013 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia.
Now 31, the veteran agrees he can teach those coming through at the Swansea.com Stadium, but he indicated to the official Ospreys YouTube channel he’s still aiming to evolve himself.
"In terms of my game, I feel like I can really go to another level,” Cuthbert said.
"I have got quite a few mates within the squad, so it seemed a real good fit.
"You want to join a quality team and if you name the Ospreys squad, it looks pretty hot on paper.
"With Gareth Anscombe coming back at 10, he is going to drive things forward and it’s good to be on the back end of a very good pack, with a good scrum, lineout and maul.
"That’s what you want as a back really. It’s quite exciting and I am just looking forward to getting straight back into it really.”
Cuthbert enjoyed extreme highs and lows during a Wales career that saw him earn 47 caps across a six-year span.
That sum is a little under the 60-cap minimum required to keep him in contention for national team selection while playing outside Wales, but he could soon regain a place in the reckoning.
Although he didn’t feature in either of those finals that saw the Chiefs lift both league and continental silverware in 2020, Cuthbert believes he’s gained valuable knowledge worth imparting.
"With the experience I’ve gained in those three years, it seemed a good opportunity to come back and express it over here,” he added.
"I still feel like I’ve got a lot to give towards the first team.
"I have got quite a few caps for Wales, I played at the top of the game with the Lions and have been in a pretty successful squad at Exeter winning the European Cup and the league and so forth.
"I just think I’ve got a lot of experience to give to the youngsters which I have been building the last couple of years."
Cuthbert—who stands a lofty 6’6”—is one of numerous established Wales internationals who has returned to play in the country in recent years.
George North, Jamie Roberts and more recently Rhys Priestland are each back with regional teams following stints in England’s Premiership and beyond.
The aforementioned Anscombe will be another long-awaited return for Welsh rugby, having yet to even debut for Ospreys more than two years after joining, delayed by a long-term knee injury.
Each of those names will compete in the inaugural United Rugby Championship this season, a reformatted Pro14 competition that will also comprise four South African teams.
Despite being considered a mere part of the rotation at Sandy Park, Cuthbert can hope to play a more prominent role in an Ospreys team that won eight and lost eight in the league last season.
That return was sufficient to secure a place in this season’s Champions Cup, at least, granting the former Cardiff talisman more potential exposure at the top level.
The Ospreys have their work cut out for them, too, after being lined up opposite Racing 92 and Sale Sharks in Pool A.
Still, Cuthbert will consider those as opportunities to surprise any who may still doubt his talents, just as he did when he first rose to the fore as a Welsh talent 10 years ago.
