Former Wales international and Cardiff winger Alex Cuthbert has described the news that his former side will be going into administration as ‘shocking’.

Cuthbert played for Cardiff between 2011 and 2018, earning the majority of his 57 international caps during that time.

“First of all, I’m shocked that the club has been allowed to get into this position,” Cuthbert said, speaking exclusively to Sportin Wales.

“I was lucky enough to represent the club for a large part of my career and I owe a lot of my achievements to the people at Cardiff.”

It is widely expected that the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) will take over the short-term running of the region, with a long-term investor targeted.

For Cuthbert and many others with connections to Cardiff Rugby, this is a stressful period of uncertainty before any concrete plans are announced.

“I know so many people who play for and are connected to the club and it is undoubtedly a difficult time,” he added.

“I hope that the future is more secure than it currently looks and that a long-term investor who puts Cardiff Rugby first can be found quickly.”

Former Wales wing Dafydd James, who briefly appeared in a Cardiff jersey at the end of his career, hoped that there would be no job losses.

“Extremely sad state of affairs and not a great position to be in as a player or a back room staff member,” he said on X.

“Let’s hope it’s a positive take over and no job losses. Indicative of Welsh rugby as a whole.”

‘Shocked at the news’

The CF10 Rugby Trust, a representative organisation for fans of Cardiff Rugby and Cardiff RFC, attempted to reassure their members that the continuation of Cardiff as club is their upmost priority.

In a statement posted on X, the trust said: “Whilst shocked at the news, we now need to look to the future.

“At this difficult time, we want to reassure our members and other Cardiff supporters that we will do our utmost to ensure the survival of our great capital city club.

“Cardiff Rugby has been around since 1876 and we need to ensure we are around for our 150th anniversary and for many decades beyond.”

Cardiff Fan Reaction: ‘Serious Questions’

Dan Pearce, prominent Cardiff fan and account owner of the popular Cardiff Rugby Life X page, has called for ‘serious questions’ to be asked about how the club reached this drastic point.

“Obviously, my first thoughts are with the players and staff as they enter an uncertain period,” Pearce said.

“Incredibly sad day for the club and worrying times for supporters, hopefully we’ll hear from Cardiff Rugby soon what the next steps are, and that a positive outcome is possible.

“Naturally there will be serious questions over how it got to this. Was the due diligence done on Helford Capital by the WRU and their advisors thorough enough, and how did the day-to-day senior management, and non-Helford members of the Board, let it get to this point?

“Supporters will want to see a major level of transparency on this front.”

Over on Facebook, Cardiff fans reacted to the news with shock and anger.

One fan, Matt Pock, commented that the club had been “betrayed by the owners who called themselves lifelong fans”, while Terry Walters asked “we are the capital city club with the best support, how could they mess this up?”

Rich Williams described the situation as “shambolic.”

“Shambolic is an understatement,” he said. “Very careful attention needs to be made to ensure the club is not hollowed out through the process as it has for other clubs in the UK.”

Williams is referring to former English Premiership sides Wasps, London Irish, and Worcester Warriors who all went bust in a 12 month period. Worcester have managed to return to the second tier of English rugby, but there is no news of London Irish or Wasps returning to the professional game.

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