On a December episode of the Sportin Wales podcast, co-hosts Alex Cuthbert and Dillon Lewis put their heads together to pick Alex’s All Time Teammates XV, from his playing career at Cardiff Rugby, Exeter Chiefs, and Ospreys.

With some stiff competition for all the positions, Alex, with help from Dillon, took a trip down memory lane while picking his team.

You can listen the episode on all audio platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, as well as watching the boys on YouTube.

Let us know if you would pick anyone else by getting in touch at media@sportin.wales and be in with a chance of a shoutout on the next podcast!

Loosehead: Gethin Jenkins

“It’s hard not to look past Gethin Jenkins,” Alex said.

“I played with some quality looseheads – Alec Hepburn and Ben Moon at Exeter, Nicky Smith, and Gareth Thomas at Ospreys – but Gethin was one of the best looseheads ever.

“Got to go for Mellon!”

Alex played with Jenkins was Cardiff during the prop’s two spells at the club, and with Wales, where he won 129 caps for Wales.

Hooker: Luke Cowan-Dickie

“Some good names here: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Mr Dewi Lake, Thomas Rhys Thomas, Matthew Rees. Who was club captain at Exeter?” Dillon asked.

“Jack Yeandle!” Alex laughed. “Never picking Yeandle. “Fair play, though, I played with him at university and he’s still going now!”

Alex picked double British and Irish Lion Luke Cowan-Dickie but did not have too many nice things to say about his former Exeter teammate!

“Absolute psychopath! He’s got a very addictive personality. When we were at Exeter, he got obsessed with gaming and became the best in the world at Search and Destroy. He bought a horse and would go and ride it.

“I don’t know how true this is, but he rode the horse the day before the Premiership final and apparently fell off!”

Tighthead: Fa’ao Filise

“Bomb – Adam Jones – in his prime, when the scrum was a ‘hit,’ was unbelievable,” Alex reminisced.

“It’s between him and Fa’ao.”

“I watched Fa’ao’s highlight reel for about four years on the bounce when they would announce his retirement and then resign him for another year!” Dillon recalled.

“Alright we’ll go Fa’ao – absolute legend!”

Filise played a scarcely believable 255 times for Cardiff over a 13-year period, becoming a cult figure at the Arms Park, given the nickname ‘the king of Tonga’ by the Blue and Blacks fans.

Locks: Jonny Hill and Alun Wyn Jones

Alex played with some incredible second rows throughout his club career, with the likes of Bradley Davies, Adam Beard, Johnny Hill, Lou Reed, Paul Tito, and Sam Skinner all left on the cutting-room floor. Ultimately, two Exeter players duked it out for a spot:

“Jonny Gray, mate, unbelievable,” Alex said.

“We won the double with him at Exeter, and we had things about effort: how quickly you could get off the floor, involvements in a game, in terms of cleanouts, kick chases.

“Jonny was so far ahead of everyone. He was on another planet at one point.”

But Alex picks another Jonny to partner Wales legend Alun Wyn Jones in the second row: Jonny Hill.

“I have to go with my mate Jonny,” Alex added. “He was class… and we’ve got a couple of horses together!”

Back Row: Dave Ewers, Justin Tipuric, Sam Simmonds

If the locks were competitive, then the back row battle was a knife fight.

Players like Dan Lydiate, Josh Navidi, Jacques Vermeulen, Jannes Kirsten, Ellis Jenkins, Jac Morgan, and Nick Williams were all left on the outside looking in as Cuthbert picked a nasty back row of Dave Ewers, Justin Tipuric, and Sam Simmonds.

“Dave Ewers is definitely my six,” Alex said. “So underrated. How he never played for England is beyond me.

“Sam Simmonds used to score 30 tries a season just with Ewers latching on and driving him over.”

Alex has a tough decision to make for his openside: Sam Warburton at Cardiff, Justin Tipuric at Ospreys, or the leftfield choice: Australia legend George Smith, who Alex played with at the Barbarians.

“Warby was an absolute freak. But if I’m going for a player that I absolutely love playing with, it has to be Justin Tipuric.

“He just had everything. Put me in for more than a few tries, too!

“At number eight, I’ve got to go with Sam Simmonds. He was one of the quickest back rows ever. The perfect number eight.”

Scrumhalf: Nic White

For the number nine shirt, Alex picked a scampering Aussie over three Welsh ballers, with recently retired Nic White pipping Lloyd Williams, Tomos Williams, and Rhys Webb to the post.

“I’ve never known a player to wind up the opposition as much as Nic,” Alex remembered.

“We called him the gecko! We used to go to the sand dunes on the coast for preseason at Exeter, and his legs were going like a gecko, running up them.”

Flyhalf: Gareth Anscombe

In a slightly surprising move (not) Alex eschewed the likes of Rhys Priestland Jarrod Evans, Rhys Patchell, Ceri Sweeney, and Joe Simmonds, to go for his best mate, Gareth Anscombe.

“I have to pick my mate Gareth.”

“Is that just doing him a favour?” Dillon asked mischievously. “Ospreys Gareth Anscombe, mind, which was an ugly watch!”

Centres: Jamie Roberts and Casey Laulala

The biggest name drop from Alex came in the centres: Joe Rokocoko, who he played with for the Barbarians against Ireland in 2015.

“Probably the best player I ever played with,” Alex said. “Not a bad name to drop!” Dillon replied.

“It’s between Casey Laulala and Henry Slade for the 13 shirt. I have to go for Doc [Jamie Roberts] and Casey for their partnership at Cardiff.

“Ollie Devoto was nearly there too, he was class and I loved how physical he was too.”

Wings: Jack Nowell and Santiago Cordero

For the wings, Alex turned his back on his Welsh wing partners, as well as refusing to pick himself, and instead picked a pair of Exeter flyers: Jack Nowell and Santiago Cordero.

“Nowell is definitely on one wing. Proper player,” Alex said. “And just for how good he was in my first season at Exeter, Santiago Cordero.

“Oh, my soul, he was untouchable!”

Fullback: Leigh Halfpenny

Despite having the likes of Ben Blair, Dan Evans, or Stuart Hogg to choose from, there was only one name to pick at fullback: Leigh Halfpenny.

“I think if you want someone who is solid and dependable at the back, it’s hard to look away from Halfers in his prime,” Alex finished.

“And he’s my kicker because Chicken [Anscombe] can’t kick!”

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