Alex Cuthbert is relaxed and up-beat. Liberated even. The Lions wing is looking forward, positively, at 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. The 28-year-old does not wish to dwell on the backdrop to his move away from Wales, but there remains an outside interest in what became a very personal matter, played out in public.
Online trolls repeatedly targeted him and cast him as the chosen Welsh scapegoat. If Warren Gatland's side had a bad day, the social media lynch mob invariably decided that Cuthbert was to blame. The vilification was absurd and brutal.
Alex Cuthbert is happy having moved from Cardiff Blues to Exeter Chiefs this summer
Now he has relocated from Cardiff to Devon, as the Chiefs' latest shrewd import, the memory of all the savage abuse is fading, until pesky media types bring up the subject again. So, speaking exclusively to Sportsmail at Sandy Park, Cuthbert relives it; not because of any great urge but because he is requested to do so and, admirably, he won't duck the issue.
Asked if in some warped way it is understandable - a twisted exercising of the right of free speech, he said: 'I think it goes too far. There is passion, but it crosses the line a lot of the time. If your team has a run of games when you're not winning, people start doubting your effort and your position.
'A lot of those people are not really rugby fans I think. 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 that they are crossing a line.
The giant winger earned 48 caps for his country and has not shut the door on a return
'They just think players are used to taking that sort of abuse. It seems to have become part and parcel of the game now. It happens in football and it probably comes from football behaviour. On social media, people seem to think they have a right to just say whatever they want, to anyone. I've rarely had anything like that to my face, if I'm on a night out or whatever. People come across as very friendly, 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 really. I'm proud of what I've done in the game; I've achieved a lot of things. 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.'
The winger received considerable online abuse when played for Wales and Cardiff
There. Addressed. Done. Put to bed. 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 really.'
If that was a step towards the new feel-good 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.
'It just seems that in Devon and in Exeter, it is all about the Chiefs,' said Cuthbert, ahead of Saturday afternoon's home clash with Sale.
'I live in town and when I walk around, everyone knows about rugby and everyone knows when the next game is. There's always a full house and there was even a crowd of 3,000 here for an 'A' league game on a Sunday afternoon. They live and breathe rugby down here and I love that. It feels like a family and everyone is behind the club.
'It's a lot more positive here! Everyone seems to be really positive, if you talk to them in the street. My parents read the papers too and even the Press seems more positive here in England, compared to Wales. 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 just goes with the territory. But it just feels more positive here and maybe that's why they do so well.'
His new side now play Exeter Chiefs on Saturday looking to maintain a 100 per cent start
By moving across the border, Cuthbert has - theoretically - made himself off-limits for Wales selection, depending on the precise nuances of the so-called 'Gatland's Law' on the subject of calling up exiles. But he's not given up all hope of appearing at the World Cup, or reviving his Test career at a later date.
'I'd never write it off and say, "I'll never play for Wales again",' he said. 'I'm only 28. I've got plenty of time to play international rugby again.' But the short-term goal is to go from impact replacement at Exeter to claim one of the starting wing places.
In the mean-time, he is gladly fitting in with the Chiefs' culture; fishing trips (but no surfing yet), some competitive golf, wandering around in sandals and weighing up whether to succumb to the whacky hairstyle craze.
'There are a few good golfers at the club,' said Cuthbert. 'Joe Simmonds is probably the best and Stu Townsend is the biggest bandit. He's been getting a bit of stick about his (Mohican) hair, but as someone who doesn't have the greatest "lid" either, I can't give out too much! They enjoy their unusual haircuts down here. I'm sure after a couple of years I'll buy into it.'
Cuthbert will start on the bench, with significant competition ahead of him for a starting berth
On a more serious note, he has designs on titles and European glory. In discussing those objectives, he touches on the limitations of his existence at the Blues, where just two of his nine seasons for the region included competing in the continent's premier event.
Constant regime change didn't help. 'I went through seven or eight different coaches,' he said. 'There was never a feeling of knowing who was going to be in charge. I'm not saying we had bad coaches but I got to the point where I wasn't learning anything.'
Cuthbert is relishing the prospect of being involved in the relentless cut-and-thrust intensity of the Premiership - having left behind a league which grapples with a credibility issue due to the rotation policies of the Irish provinces, who have to regularly rest their leading lights.
'You see a lot of the Pro14 sides doing well in Europe, but you're not getting a lot of their top players playing every week,' he said. 'You see team sheets and they're not at full strength. In the Premiership, everyone's at full strength every week.'
Exeter's squad has far greater depth than the one he was part of in the Welsh capital and as a result, Cuthbert faces a weekly fight to claim a starting place and keep it. A tally of 48 caps for Wales does not give him a divine right to play ahead of fellow Lion Jack Nowell, Argentine flier Santiago Cordero or the prolific Olly Woodburn.
The competitive beast in him is galvanised by the challenge - and everything about this new chapter. Cuthbert has left the trolls and abuse in his wake. No wonder he's so up-beat.
Exeter also have wings Jack Nowell, Santiago Cordero and the prolific Olly Woodburn
https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/15/blocking-the-trolls-alex-cuthbert-on-how-online-abuse-ended-after-he-swapped-teams/
Main photo article Alex Cuthbert is relaxed and up-beat. Liberated even. The Lions wing is looking forward, positively, at 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. The 28-year-old does not wish to dwell on the...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Sport HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/09/14/19/5016235100000578-6169259-image-a-160_1536948559353.jpg
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