Cueto sad to see decline in Wales
FORMER England winger Mark Cueto has been sad to see the decline of the domestic and international game in Wales, which he believes has worsened significantly since his retirement.
Cueto, who played for England between 2004 and 2011, never questioned that they would beat Italy in the Six Nations, but does feel that they underperform across the tournament.
“They know they’re not as good as they should be at the moment but I expected Wales to beat Italy brings,” he said. “That was probably their target game to go and win. A lot probably pointed to an Italy win but I couldn’t see the Welsh slipping up.”
Wales backed up that victory with a battling display in defeat to France but Cueto believes the high average age of the squad has a lot to do with their recent struggles, with a failure to replace the golden generation of talent that won three Grand Slams between 2005 and 2012.
The Welsh regions have also been in decline since Cueto’s playing days, when the regions won five out of 15 United Rugby Championship titles (then known as the Celtic League), with two further final appearances.
Since he retired however, they have won just one out of seven titles with only one further final
appearance, as well as just one European Champions Cup quarter-final appearance in 11 years after ten sides appeared in that round between 2001 and 2012.
“The average age of the Welsh squad at the moment is off the charts,” he added. “They have got a few young players but they don’t seem to have really brought through the next generation.
“I’ve not played for England for 12 years, and there are players who I played against who are still turning out for them.
“It’s a shame to see what’s happened in recent years. I remember playing Heineken Cup rugby against Scarlets and Ospreys and they were massive clubs with full stadiums and superstars of the game, Shane Williams and Ryan Jones to name a few.
“There was a period where the regions were flying and where England just couldn’t win a game at the Millennium Stadium. They won three Grand Slams in seven years, and so it’s quite sad to see the state of rugby there at the moment.
But it’s not just a Welsh problem, English clubs obviously have their issues and if it wasn’t for the international game in both countries the domestic game would be on its knees.”
As well as Wales, England will not be favoured to perform well at this autumn’s Rugby World Cup in France.
But as well as giving him the best memories of his career, Cueto holds that the 2007 World Cup in the same country as evidence a team can comeback from seemingly nowhere to perform well at the tournament.
“People ask me what the best experience of my career was, and I was lucky enough to play on a Lions tour, but the Rugby World Cup in France blew that out the water.
“It was a real fairytale story, we had a poor Six Nations, conceded over 100 points in a two-match Tour in South Africa and then got nilled by them in the second game of the tournament before reaching the final.”
■ Mark Cueto is a brand ambassador for SportsBreaks, the official travel agent for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland packages for tickets, travel and hotels are available now via https://www.sportsbreaks.com/Rugby/Rugby-World-Cup-2023