Cuthbert looking to make his mark
By Mark Stevens
18/11/18
Having got himself up and running over the past fortnight in the Premiership Rugby Cup, Alex Cuthbert is hoping to hit full throttle when he lines-up for Exeter Chiefs in today’s Gallagher Premiership encounter at Bristol Bears (3pm).
A hamstring injury sustained in the top-flight win over Worcester Warriors in late September meant Exeter’s summer signing was forced to sit out five weeks of action, including the Heineken Champions Cup encounters against Munster and Castres.
Now, the 28-year-old winger is fit and raring to go and aiming to make his mark as the Chiefs look to preserve their unbeaten record in the Premiership this season with victory against their nearest and dearest.
“I’ve been back a couple of weeks and I’m feeling good,” said the Wales and British Lions speedster. “I had a good 60 minutes last week against Harlequins, a bit the week before against Bath, both of which were good wins for us, and now I’m looking forward to getting back into the Premiership.
“Yes, it’s been frustrating - especially missing the two Heineken Cup games - but as I said, I’m back now and all my focus is on Sunday and playing Bristol.”
With Saracens reclaiming top spot yesterday with their home win over Sale Sharks, Rob Baxter’s side know they will need to be at their best to reclaim pole position against a Bristol outfit who have impressed on their return to the Premiership this season.
The home side will include four former Chiefs in their squad today, whilst star summer signing Charles Piutau is set to make his Premiership bow for the club at full-back.
Cuthbert is aware of the threat posed by Pat Lam’s side and offered a timely note of caution. However, he also believes should the Chiefs click into gear, they have enough firepower within their ranks to do plenty of damage.
“Bristol are a good side and they like to play rugby and throw it about a fair bit,” he said. “For us, though, it’s about implementing our game on them. That means keeping the ball, defending well, putting them under pressure and playing with a real tempo.
“We’ve done over the last few weeks and picked up some decent wins, but now we need to carry that on in the Premiership. We’re all training together, we’re all working hard for one another, so hopefully we can keep up that same kind of form at the weekend. Right now, there is no bigger game than Bristol for us.”
Certainly, today’s derby battle takes centre stage for all and sundry at Sandy Park, but looking to the future, Cuthbert has expressed his excitement at the signing of Scottish international Stuart Hogg next season.
The duo were room-mates on the Lions tour to Australia in 2013 and Cuthbert knows better than anyone what Hogg will bring to the party when he arrives next summer.
"He'll be a good asset to the Chiefs and the league," said Cuthbert. "He's Scotland's golden boy so we'll look after him down here and I'm sure he'll enjoy the culture that I'm enjoying and the boys have set up.
"I'm looking forward to him coming down and it shows where the club has come from signing a double British and Irish Lions player.
It's all credit to the coaching staff and the setup down here. He's got 60-odd caps for Scotland, he's been in every top game that he can be in. It's a bit more competition for the back three, but it's exactly what you want and the squad's growing in quality as well as depth."