WARREN Gatland has warned that rebuffing the advances of the Welsh Rugby Union will leave players at a slight disadvantage in the tussle for Test caps after confirming that Cardiff Blues winger Alex Cuthbert has turned down an offer of a dual contract, writes Chris Kirwan.

The 24-year-old has a year to run on his deal at the Arms Park and has been linked with moves to Clermont Auvergne in the Top 14 and Bath in the Aviva Premiership.

So far seven players have penned dual contracts – captain Sam Warburton, flanker Dan Lydiate, props Samson Lee and Rhodri Jones, lock Jake Ball and Newport Gwent Dragons backs Hallam Amos and Tyler Morgan.

But Cuthbert, who has been struggling for form with his region, has declined to join the gang.

"We offered him a contract and he turned it down for his own reasons and I am meeting with (Cardiff Blues coach) Mark Hammett to talk about it and a few other issues," said Gatland.

"There's no pressure on players to take dual contracts. It's offered to them and if they don't want to accept one then it offers the opportunity up to somebody else.

"It won't affect selection but there's an obvious advantage to players in terms of the number of games that they play for their regions.

"We've limited it to 16 plus semi-finals and finals but we've already got players who have played 19 games this season and look pretty tired after playing week in, week out.

"A dual contract will be good for the players and there are bigger commercial opportunities. Turning one down won't detract from a player being selected but if we've offered a player a dual contract it does probably give a very slight edge of being selected in squads because we've made a commitment to them and they've made a commitment to us."

Cuthbert, a Test try scorer with the Lions in 2013, has been a mainstay in the Wales squad since breaking through in the 2012 Six Nations has a strike rate of 14 tries in 30 caps.