- Mike Catt to become England Attacking Skills Coach
- Stuart Lancaster makes it a four-man senior coaching team
Mike Catt is to become Attacking Skills Coach for England’s elite players, joining Stuart Lancaster's set up with immediate effect.
Catt, capped 75 times for England, will work with Head Coach Lancaster, Forwards Coach Graham Rowntree and Backs Coach Andy Farrell in the England senior coaching team and with both Senior and Saxons Elite Player Squads.
The 40-year-old was part of England’s coaching set-up for the summer tour to South Africa and Lancaster has been impressed with his ideas for developing the attacking play of England’s current and future internationals.
Lancaster said: “Mike made a big impression in South Africa, both on the players and the management. When we got back I asked him to outline his vision for developing not only the skills of the senior team, especially in attack, but with our younger players in the Saxons.
“Having played at the highest level for many years and developed his coaching during his time at London Irish he has a clear plan for developing these skills.
“We have always been an integrated coaching team covering all areas of the game and Mike will be a great addition alongside Graham and Andy. We have a massive challenge ahead of us with the QBE Internationals in November but beyond that we need to ensure we have the highest standards across all our representative teams and programmes and Mike will help deliver those.
“I’d like to thank London Irish for reaching a compromise with us and allowing Mike to start immediately.”
Catt, who won the Rugby World Cup in 2003 and has been capped in every position across the backline except scrum half, spoke of his pride in taking up the position.
“I loved working with the squad in South Africa and, while gutted not to win the series, I can see that this group of players is heading in the right direction,” he said. “Stuart, Graham and Andy did a fantastic job in the Six Nations and to be able to work with them and the best players in England is a great honour.”
