Cuthbert scorched over for a clinical first half try, but the accurate boot of returning scrum half Greig Laidlaw saw Blues only take a slender 13-12 lead into the interval.
The second half saw the Blues’ dominance in the forwards and kicking battle wrestle total control of the encounter with Leigh Halfpenny adding eleven points to the score board.
And the victory was wrapped up when Cuthbert finished a sensational team try as slick handling sent him over to a huge ovation from the home crowd.
Cardiff Blues started strongly, as they looked to set the pace with some high tempo attacking phase play for forwards and backs punching holes in the Edinburgh rearguard.
They were soon rewarded with the first points on the board, after Edinburgh gave away a penalty for not releasing, with Halfpenny converting the penalty into three points for the home side.
Blues continued their strong start as they looked to gain territory. Back in Edinburgh’s twenty two, good ball handling and fast pace from the Blues’ backs saw Edinburgh under pressure again. Once again the visitors were penalised at the breakdown for hands in the ruck. Halfpenny, though, uncharacteristically missed wide right of the posts.
The fired-up home side continued to pile on the pressure with some powerful hits, led by a thundering tackle from Filo Paulo that had the home supporters on their feet.
Edinburgh were awarded the first scrum of the game which lead to the visitors first glimpse of the Blues’ twenty two. After the Blues conceded a penalty for not rolling away, a powerful kick by Laidlaw from 45-metres out leveled the playing field.
Laidlaw’s accurate right boot then gave the visitors the lead before Halfpenny again drew the teams level three minutes later.
The opening try of the game was well crafted by the hosts as Owen Williams and Harry Robinson combined with devastating impact down the right. The grubber kicked ahead and when the speedy wing picked up, he fed Williams away and into space.
The flying centre was snagged 15-metres out, but with an overlap on the right the Blues fired the ball wide and Paulo produced the final pass for Cuthbert to run around the full back and dot down. Halfpenny added the extras for a deserved 13-6 lead.
Laidlaw but the lead back and Blues were dealt a blow as influential midfielder Williams had to the leave the field, replaced by Dafydd Hewitt who celebrated his 100th game for the region.
With minutes to go in the first half, Edinburgh began to regain the upper hand and put the Blues under increasing pressure.
Another successful penalty kick by Laidlaw meant there was only a point in it at the break despite the territory and possession being firmly with the capital city side.
Edinburgh came out more determined in the second half. A penalty was given against Bradley Davies for a high tackle but Laidlaw was unable to put the visitors in the lead, hitting the left hand post.
The Blues were not out of danger, though, as Edinburgh chased the kick, pressuring in the Blues’ twenty two. It seemed the visitors had got their first try when Tomas Leonardi crossed the line. However, to the joy of the crowd, the try was disallowed as it was ruled to be a double movement.
The Blues looked to clear the danger and furthered their lead as Halfpenny slotted the ball over the posts giving the home side a 16-12 lead.
A trio of Lions flexed their muscles as Gethin Jenkins passed to Halfpenny who in turn found the marauding Cuthbert who was only just halted in the Edinburgh’s twenty two.
The Blues recycled the ball quickly and looked as if they would cross the line in the far left corner. However, play was stopped and Edinburgh were handed another blow as Cornall Du Preez was shown a yellow card for cynically slowing down play. Halfpenny booted the ball over the posts for a 22-12 lead.
The Blues were picking up the tempo and struck in sensational fashion with a true team try.
Cory Allen broke through Edinburgh’s defence, as Blues looked wide and to exploit an overlap, and then neatly passed the ball back in field to the supporting Hewitt who broke clear.
The ball was spun through the hands of Hewitt, Halfpenny and Warburton, with the Lions skipper applying the final pass to Cuthbert who showed all his pace and power to blaze over, with Halfpenny adding the extras.
Moments later Cuthbert though he had a hat-trick when he collected Patchell’s delightful delayed pass out of the tackle and bulldozed over. However, the winger was held up by two men as he looked to ground the ball.
Timeline:
04m: Halfpenny p 3-0
15m: Laidlaw p 3-3
23m: Laidlaw p 3-6
26m: Halfpenny p 6-6
28m: Cuthbert t Halfpenny c 13-6
32m: Laidlaw p 13-9
39m: Laidlaw p 13-12
54m: Halfpenny p 16-12
56m: Halfpenny p 19-12
60m: Halfpenny p 22-12
66m: Cuthbert t Halfpenny c 29-12
Cardiff Blues: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Owen Williams (Hewitt, 32), 12 Cory Allen, 11 Harry Robinson, 10 Rhys Patchell (G Davies,78), 9 Lloyd Williams (L Jones, 74); 1 Gethin Jenkins (Hobbs, 60), 2 Matthew Rees (Dacey, 78), 3 Taufa’ao Filise (Andrews, 66), 4 Bradley Davies, 5 Filo Paulo (Reed, 78), 6 Josh Navidi, 7 Sam Warburton, 8 Andries Pretorius (Copeland, 46)
Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Sam Hobbs, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Lou Reed, 20 Robin Copeland, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Gareth Davies, 23 Dafydd Hewitt
Edinburgh Rugby:15 Jack Cuthbert, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Joaquin Dominguez (Hidalgo,68), 12 Ben Atiga (Scott 25), 11 Tim Visser, 10 Harry Leonard, 9 Greig Laidlaw; 1 Alasdair Dickinson(Blaauw,61), 2 Ross Ford, 3 Willem Nel, 4 Sean Cox, 5 Izak van der Westhiuizen (Atkins,40), 6 Dimitri Basilaia, 7 Tomas Leonardi(Du Preez, 45), 8 David Denton
Replacements:16 James Hilterbrand, 17 Wicus Blaauw, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Ollie Atkins, 20 Cornell Du Preez, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Matt Scott, 23 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne