BLOCKING THE TROLLS
Alex Cuthbert says online abuse soon ended when he left Wales to join Exeter
ALEX CUTHBERT is relaxed and upbeat. Liberated even. The Lions wing is looking forward, positively, to the next stage in his career at Exeter. Blame the interviewer for forcing him to look back.
But not in anger. Or with bitterness. Or regret. Cuthbert, 28, has no wish to dwell on leaving Wales, but there remains an interest in what became a very personal matter, played out in public.
Online trolls repeatedly targeted him and cast him as the villain. If Warren Gatland’s Wales side had a bad day, the social media lynch mob invariably decided that Cuthbert was to blame. The vilification was absurd and brutal.
Now that he has relocated from Cardiff to Devon, as the Chiefs’ latest shrewd import, the memory of all the savage abuse is fading. Cuthbert relives it only because he is asked to do so and he will not duck the issue.
Asked if in some warped way the bitter criticism is understandable, he said: ‘It goes too far. There is passion, but it crosses the line a lot of the time.
‘Many of those people are not really rugby fans. They will just watch the international games in Wales — they don’t watch club rugby. They’ll watch six or seven games a year and they have their opinion. They probably don’t even realise they are crossing a line.
‘They think players are used to taking that sort of abuse. It seems to have become part and parcel of the game. It happens in football and it probably comes from football behaviour. On social media people seem to think they have a right to say whatever they want, to anyone.
‘I’ve rarely had anything like that to my face but on social media people think they have that right.
‘People want to be part of it. They feel like they’re involved and they have an opinion. A lot of the boys just brush it off but some get more of it than others. Sometimes you have that stigma attached to you which is hard to get rid of.
‘I got used to it. My parents found it tough — my mother would be quite p***ed off by it, but it doesn’t bother me too much.
‘I’m proud of what I’ve done in the game. I’ve achieved a lot. If people want to have their opinion, that’s fine, but I know when I’ve gone on the pitch I’ve always given 100 per cent.’
Nothing about Cuthbert’s words or his demeanour warrant any renewed rage or indignation from the trolls. He has withdrawn from the social media firing line anyway, adding: ‘You’re asking for trouble going on there.’
If that was a step towards the new feelgood phase, the decision to sign for Exeter has worked wonders in that regard. Not so long ago, public interaction was often a source of grief but now it is quite the opposite.
‘In Devon and in Exeter, it is all about the Chiefs,’ said Cuthbert, preparing for today’s home clash with Sale. ‘I live in town and when I walk around, everyone knows about rugby and knows when the next game is.
‘There’s always a full house. They live and breathe rugby here and I love that. It feels like a family and everyone is behind the club.
‘It’s a lot more positive here. If you have one or two bad games in Wales, you have a lot of people on your back. I played with that for years and it goes with the territory but it feels more positive here. Maybe that’s why they do so well.’
By moving to England, Cuthbert has — theoretically — left himself off- limits for Wales selection, depending on the precise nuances of the so- called ‘ Gatland’s Law’ relating to exiles.
But he is not given up all hope of playing at the World Cup or reviving his Test career at a later date.
‘I’d never write it off,’ he said. ‘I am only 28. I have plenty of time.’
But the short-term goal is to go from impact replacement at Exeter to claim one of the starting wing places.
Meanwhile, he is happy fitting in with Chiefs’ culture — fishing trips ( no surfing yet), some golf, wandering round in sandals and weighing up whether to fall in with the club’s whacky hairstyle craze.
Further ahead, he has designs on titles and European glory. Cuthbert has left the trolls in his wake. No wonder he’s so upbeat.