ACT NOW... OR WALES WILL BE A WORLD CUP 'LAUGHING STOCK'

Welsh and Lions winger Cuthbert calls on rugby chiefs to stop repeat of humiliation at hands of Springboks

- BY PAUL EDDISON

ALEX Cuthbert has called on those running the game in Wales to take action to avoid the team being a 'laughing stock' in Australia in 2027.

The Dragons have been drawn alongside England, as well as Tonga and Zimbabwe, for the World Cup, the first time they will face their arch-rivals at the tournament since 2015 when winger Cuthbert was part of the team that dumped the hosts out in the pool stages.

Wales have gone on to make the semifinals at the 2019 edition and the quarterfinals four years later.

But turmoil in the domestic game has led to a drastic downturn in fortunes as the national team struggles against the backdrop of uncertainty over the future of the regional sides.

That culminated in a 73-0 home defeat to South Africa in the final game of the autumn, and Cuthbert is urging the likes of Richard Collier-Keywood, the Welsh Rugby Union chair, and WRU director of rugby Dave Reddin, to take decisive action now to give the team a chance of competing in Australia.

"There will come a time when this board and these chairs, the guys in charge of the union, have to do something quickly with the team situation to put the boys in the best situation to compete," said Cuthbert.

"At the moment, we are not in a position to compete in that World Cup. If that World Cup were this year, we would be miles off it.

"There is a lot to do and the urgency of playing against a team like England with the media and eyes on the game, it's another level.

"We don't want to be a laughing stock at that World Cup. We want to make sure we are going there as competitive as we can be, but also realistic."

The 35-year-old Cuthbert officially called time on his playing career earlier this year, having helped Wales to successive Guinness Six Nations titles in 2012 and 2013, when he also toured with the British & Irish Lions to Australia.