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Ex-Ireland assistant Mike Catt linked with a Super Rugby role
By Liam Heagney
Former Ireland assistant Mike Catt is reportedly in a two-man race to become an assistant coach at Dan McKellar’s Waratahs. It was last December when it was confirmed by the IRFU that the 2003 Rugby World Cup winner with England would be stepping away as attack coach following the completion of the July tour to South Africa.
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Having won the 2024 Guinness Six Nations, the Irish drew that series with the Springboks one-all with Ciaran Frawley’s last-gasp drop goal clinching a second Test win in Durban three weeks ago.
That was Catt’s final involvement with Andy Farrell’s team since first joining them for the 2020 Six Nations and he has now been linked with a Super Rugby Pacific switch to the city where he won the World Cup as a player with England 21 years ago.
An exclusive report on the theroar.com.au has suggested he is up against former Clermont stalwart Brock James for the position on the Sydney-based staff that is being quickly assembled by new high performance director Simon Raiwalui. It read: “Dan McKellar is getting closer to announcing his coaching team with England great and Irish assistant coach Mike Catt firmly in the conversation to join the Waratahs.
“The Roar can reveal that Catt, the 2003 World Cup winner turned England and Ireland assistant, is strongly in the mix to join McKellar as his minister of attack. It’s believed that Catt has long harboured an interest in returning to Australia in a coaching capacity and sees the Waratahs as a destination for his family.
“With three World Cup campaigns under his belt as well as a couple of Six Nations crowns, securing Catt would not just be a coup for the Waratahs but the Wallabies with the British and Irish Lions to venture down under next year. He would be the perfect figure to help guide McKellar’s star-studded backline, which will welcome NRL gun Joseph Suaalii to Daceyville next year and feature Andrew Kellaway and 19-year-old rising star Max Jorgensen.
“It’s understood the 2003 World Cup winner, who played one Test for the British and Irish Lions, is up against Brock James for the role. James, 42, played for Sydney University and spent two years in Super Rugby before carving out a stellar career in the French Top 14, where he played for Clermont for a decade before playing for La Rochelle and Bordeaux.
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“Since finishing up as one of France’s highest point scorers, the Geelong-born playmaker has coached with Hawke’s Bay and built a strong reputation after guiding them to last year’s National Provincial Competition final.”
