Mike Catt
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Birth name | Michael John Catt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 17 September 1971 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Port Elizabeth, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 13 st 8 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Grey High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Michael John Catt OBE (born 17 September 1971) is a South African-born former rugby union player who played for the England national rugby union team. He played professionally for the clubs London Irish and Bath. He earned 75 international caps for England and played in two World Cup Finals, in 2003 (when England won) and 2007. With his appearance in the October 2007 final, at age 36 years 1 month, he became the oldest ever player to play in a Rugby World Cup final.[1] Since 2008, Catt has coached various rugby teams, and is currently[when?] an assistant coach for the Ireland national rugby team.
South African origins
Catt was born on 17 September 1971 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He attended Grey High School in Port Elizabeth until 1989 and represented Eastern Province at rugby union. His mother Anne was English, through whom he qualified to play for England later on, and as a student he toured England. At the time, South Africa was banned from international competition because of the country's apartheid policy. He moved to England after leaving school.
Club career
Catt joined Bath in 1992 as understudy to Stuart Barnes and made his debut as a 21-year-old against Nottingham R.F.C. later the same year. He started for Bath in the victorious 1998 Heineken Cup Final as they defeated Brive.[2] He had a testimonial year with Bath in 2004, but at the end of the 2003–04 season, Bath decided not to renew his contract and he moved to London Irish.[3] At the start of the 2007–08 season, he announced he was going to be backs coach for London Irish as well as a player. Whilst with the Exiles, he enjoyed a fruitful twilight of his career and in May 2006 was named Guinness Premiership Player of the Season.[4] He is the oldest ever player to play in an English Premiership final (May 2009), aged 37, when he was a player / coach at London Irish.[citation needed]
On 8 May 2010 he played the final competitive club match of his career. Already a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to rugby.[5]
International career
In 2006 he received an England recall, making his first Test appearances for two years on the summer tour to Australia, cementing his place in England's top ten most capped players. He had been in international exile until he was called up to captain England in the 2007 Six Nations game against France at Twickenham.[6] England, with regular captain Phil Vickery and fly-half Jonny Wilkinson out to injury, won the match 26–18. He also captained England in the Six Nations defeat to Wales at the Millennium Stadium and again in England's pre-World Cup defeat to France at Twickenham in August 2007.
Catt confirmed his retirement from international rugby on 27 October 2007, the week after England lost to South Africa in that year's World Cup.[1]
Coaching career
Catt's coaching career began in 2008, where he replaced Brian Smith as attack coach at London Irish; he acted as a player-coach for the 2008-10 season. When he fully retired from playing at the end of the 2009-10 season, he remained with the London Irish set-up until Smith returned to the club in 2012.
In 2012, Catt joined the England national set-up as backs/attack coach for their 2012 tour to South Africa. On 15 December 2015, following the resignation of head coach Stuart Lancaster on 11 November 2015, newly appointed head coach Eddie Jones sacked the whole coaching team.[7]
On 25 March 2016, Catt was announced as part of the newly appointed Italy coaching staff, sharing duties with Conor O'Shea and Stephen Aboud.[8]
On 24 June 2019, it was confirmed after the 2019 Rugby World Cup, Catt will be joining former England player and coach Andy Farrell's coaching team at Ireland; after Joe Schmidt, the current Head Coach, steps down. Catt said: “I am looking forward to RWC in Japan and seeing the group of players we have here in Italy fulfil their potential and achieve the objectives we have set for ourselves. Obviously it is an honour to be given this future opportunity with Ireland but I will focus on that challenge only after I have given my all for Italy and this group of players.”
England’s coaching group during the 2015 Rugby World Cup will now all be employed in Ireland – Andy Farrell (current Ireland defence coach and future head coach), Stuart Lancaster (Leinster Rugby senior coach), Graham Rowntree (Munster Rugby forwards coach) and Mike Catt (Ireland attack coach).[9]
Honours
- Premiership 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96
- Anglo-Welsh Cup 1994, 1995, 1996
- European Rugby Champions Cup 1998
- Six Nations 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001
- World Cup 2003
- South Africa 1997 Winner
- Australia 2001 Tourist
References
- ^ a b "Catt calls time on England career". BBC News. 27 October 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- ^ "The Third Heineken Cup Final". epcrugby.com. 31 January 1998. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
- ^ "Exiles win Catt chase". BBC News. 5 May 2004. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- ^ "Catt picks up Premiership honour". BBC News. 24 May 2006. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- ^ "No. 59647". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2010. p. 9.
- ^ "Catt to lead much-changed England". BBC News. 6 March 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- ^ Graham Rowntree, Mike Catt and Andy Farrell leave England roles
- ^ Mike Catt joins Conor O'Shea in new-look Italy coaching team
- ^ [1]
- Use dmy dates from August 2013
- 1971 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Port Elizabeth
- English rugby union coaches
- English rugby union players
- South African rugby union coaches
- South African rugby union players
- Rugby union fly-halves
- Rugby union centres
- Rugby union fullbacks
- Rugby union wings
- Bath Rugby players
- London Irish players
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- England international rugby union players
- South African people of British descent
- South African emigrants to the United Kingdom
- Alumni of Grey High School
- British and Irish Lions rugby union players from England