Alex Cuthbert has revealed how fatherhood has changed his outlook on rugby as he reflects on getting his love for the game back.
The 32-year-old Ospreys and Wales wing is now a father-of-two and says that - along with his international recall - has radically altered the way he sees the sport.
“When I was a youngster, I used to only think about rugby, unless I was playing Call of Duty,” he admits.
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“I’ve got no time for that now I’ve got kids. They’ve given me a different perspective. I don’t take rugby home with me, but I feel as though I’m back in love with the game a lot more.
“The reason I play rugby is because I love it and I fell out of love with it in the past. I’m not getting any younger, but, mentally, I feel like I’ve got a lot of good years to come.
“At club level, I love turning up for training, but in the past, it wasn’t the case. Now, getting the chance to play for Wales again has made me fall back in love with the sport.
“I love having my family watching, and there’s no better feeling than that. I want to play for as long as I can and look at every game as if it is my last game.”
Cuthbert, a Grand Slam winner in 2012, became eligible for Wales once more last year when he joined the Ospreys from Exeter and has returned to the international stage under Wayne Pivac, taking his tally of caps to 52.
He has been through plenty of highs and lows during his career and is keen to pass on his thoughts on how to handle the bad times to those around him.
“I feel like a bit of a mentor now to the younger players. We’ve got a lot of youngsters in the squad we want to develop and make better. I’m just passing my experiences of how I was and how I reacted,” he said.
“Reaction in terms of being dropped is one of the biggest things coaches look into. It’s a test of a player’s character. That’s one of the things I didn’t react well to last time I was with Wales, whereas now I’m going into games very well prepared.
“I know what I can do well, and I just stick to that. I don’t worry about anything externally other than what’s in my little bubble.”
Cuthbert picked up a shoulder injury in Wales' second Test against South Africa in July and sat out the Ospreys' 23-23 draw away to the Scarlets in their opening United Rugby Championship fixture.
But he is eager to return to action for the region, who play hosts to the Lions from Johannesburg on Saturday evening, a game which will be shown live on S4C.
Outlining the Ospreys' approach to the coming campaign, the winger said: “We are trying to get our best players on the ball a bit more because we know our set-piece is a strength. We showed last year with the dominance we had in that aspect of the game.
“We just need to make a couple of tweaks which will hopefully work, and hopefully come to fruition. There’s a lot to look forward to, especially with the youngsters we’ve got coming through.”
- S4C will show live coverage of Ospreys v Emirates Lions from 7.15pm on Saturday, followed by a full replay of Glasgow v Cardiff at 9.45pm. On Sunday, S4C will also show a full match replay of Scarlets v Ulster from 1pm. English commentary will be available.
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