Michael John Catt OBE (born 17 September 1971) is a South African-born former

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who played for the

England national rugby union team The England national rugby union team represents the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in international rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France national rugby union team, France, Ireland national rugby union team, ...

. He played professionally for the clubs

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...

and

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. He earned 75 international caps for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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 The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

final. Since 2008, Catt has coached various rugby teams, and from 2019 to 2024 was assistant coach for the Ireland national rugby team. He is currently Attack Coach for the

NSW Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), often referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team based in Sydney that represents the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. The Waratahs play ...

Early life

Catt was born on 17 September 1971 in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

, 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 South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

was banned from international competition because of the country's

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

policy. He moved to England after leaving school.

Club career

Catt joined

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. 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

. 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. 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. On 8 May 2010 he played the final competitive club match of his career. Already a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE), he was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to rugby.

International career

A utility back, Catt played for

at fullback, fly-half, inside centre and even

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

, and was part of the England side that won the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

. His international debut came against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

as a replacement for Rob Andrew. His breakthrough performance, however, came in England's following match against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium (; usually known as Twickenham, and for sponsorship purposes known as the Allianz Stadium Twickenham) is a rugby union stadium in Twickenham, London, England. It is owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the English rugby u ...

, where he came on as an injury-replacement for the incumbent England fullback Paul Hull. England's emphatic victory, Hull's untimely injury, and Catt's impact in the late stages of the game cemented Catt as the new darling of English rugby that season. Playing at full back, Catt was part of England's 1995 Grand Slam winning side, and played in the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup (), was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in ...

. In that event, he was memorably " posterised" by a young Jonah Lomu, who ran over him on the way to one of his four tries for the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

in their semifinal win over England. Catt was called up as an injury replacement in the 1997 British Lions tour to South Africa and played in the final test. At the time the England squad (excluding the substantial number who were with the Lions) were touring Argentina, where Catt was showing excellent form. For some of his international career, his inclusion was questioned in some quarters. He was booed when he missed a penalty against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in 1998 at

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

that could have won the match; Australia won by 1 point. Ultimately though his natural ability as a rugby player has provided more positive career notes than negatives. In 2000, with the retirement of centres after the 1999 World Cup, his career was revived when he stepped into midfield. Acting as an inside centre, with Jonny Wilkinson his kicking and distribution was responsible for the high try counts of that year. Catt was selected for the 2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia but was injured and replaced by Scott Gibbs. Catt was selected in the squad that won the 2003 World Cup; a move some saw as the one surprise selection in Clive Woodward's squad. After featuring in pool games against

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, Catt was brought on as a half time substitute in England's quarter-final against

, with England trailing 10–3. As a tactical substitution to improve England's kicking options and reduce the pressure on Jonny Wilkinson, Catt's performance was seen by many as key to England's improved second half showing and eventual 28–17 victory. In the semi-final against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Catt was selected to start at inside centre as a tactical move, and due to his performance against Wales. He played in the extra-time period in the final as a replacement for Mike Tindall, alongside Wilkinson and

Will Greenwood William John Heaton Greenwood, Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 20 October 1972) is an English former rugby union player who played for Leicester Tigers and Harlequin F.C., Harlequins and was a member of England's 2003 Rugby World Cup, 20 ...

in England's midfield. Catt made several breaks in the extra-time period, and kicked the ball into touch to bring about the final whistle, ending the game and confirming England as world champions. 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. 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 was included in Brian Ashton's England squad for the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...

, where he helped England reach a second successive final. Catt brought out his own autobiography after the World Cup "Landing on My Feet: My Story". 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.

Coaching career

Catt's coaching career began in 2008, where he replaced Brian Smith as attack coach at

; 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. On 25 March 2016, Catt was announced as part of the newly appointed

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

coaching staff, sharing duties with Conor O'Shea and Stephen Aboud. On 24 June 2019, it was confirmed after the 2019 Rugby World Cup, Catt will be joining former

player and coach Andy Farrell's coaching team at

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

; 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

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". As of February 2023, England's coaching group during the

2015 Rugby World Cup The IRB 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was ...

are all employed in Ireland – Andy Farrell (Ireland head coach), Stuart Lancaster ( Leinster Rugby senior coach), Graham Rowntree ( Munster Rugby head coach) and Mike Catt (Ireland attack coach). Catt left Ireland after the 2024 Summer Tour to South Africa. On 5 August 2024 it was announced Catt was joining the

as Attack Coach.

Honours

;

* Premiership 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96 *

Anglo-Welsh Cup The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...

1994, 1995, 1996 * European Rugby Champions Cup 1998 ;

* Six Nations 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2003 * World Cup 2003 ; Lions *

1997 Winner *

2001 Tourist ;

* Six Nations 2023 (Grand Slam)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catt, Mike 1971 births Living people Rugby union players from Gqeberha 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 & Irish Lions rugby union players from England 1995 Rugby World Cup players 1999 Rugby World Cup players 2003 Rugby World Cup players 2007 Rugby World Cup players