The Cardiff Blues man was a key figure for Wales both during the Grand Slam of 2012 and when the squad retained their title last year. With an enviable recent record, Wales are aiming for what would be a historic third consecutive title, with Cuthbert arguing the side should welcome the pressure that comes with defending their crown.
The Cardiff Blues man and the rest of the Wales squad met up with head coach Warren Gatland at their Vale of Glamorgan training base this week ahead of next Saturday’s opener with Italy at the Millennium Stadium.
“I was excited to come back into camp and see all the boys,” said Cuthbert.
“From the start of the season, you work hard to get into that autumn squad and then again to get into this squad. Everyone knows how special the Six Nations is, we’ve done well over the last few years and we’re looking forward to the games coming up.
“I guess we’re the team everyone wants to beat. Other sides will want to stop us winning and every game is going to be like a World Cup final. We need to go into these games with a do or die mentality as when we get into our stride, as we’ve shown over the last couple of years, we’re hard to stop.
“You want to be the best team in the Six Nations and you’ve got to relish being able to show what you can do.”
Wales started last year’s Six Nations with a home defeat to Ireland before registering four consecutive wins over France, Italy, Scotland and most famously, England. The 30-3 victory over Stuart Lancaster’s men secured the title, Cuthbert doing the damage with a brace of second half tries.
“It was a pretty memorable day but for us we have to put it to one side,” Cuthbert added, as he looked back 12 months.
“Being at home is great for us, we love playing at the Millennium Stadium and we’ve got a good Six Nations record at home. We’ll be looking to stamp our authority straight away but it won’t be easy.
“Our prime target is to win the Six Nations again and take every game as it comes. At the moment, our concentration is firmly on Italy but they have shown they’re hard to break down. Hopefully we can put a performance in there and then we’ll move on to the next one.”
Gatland has named a hugely experienced squad for the Six Nations in which competition for places is incredibly high.
“It’s a great squad, we’ve got so much depth in each position and a lot of players pushing,” agreed Cuthbert.
“You need that within the squad environment. The Six Nations is the big build up before the World Cup and we need to use that to propel us forward. We need to use this as a bench mark and there are 35-40 players fighting for the first Test XV.
“Warren has given us a target and that’s what we want as players. We’re a close knit group and we’re hoping to make history.”
There are still a limited number of tickets available for Wales vs Italy at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, February 1. There are single tickets available for Wales against France on February 21 but the home encounter with Scotland on the final weekend is sold out. To get your tickets go to www.wru.co.uk/tickets.
