Mike Catt
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.77 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Weight | 13 st 8 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Michael John Catt MBE (born 17 September 1971 in Port Elizabeth) is a South African-born English rugby union footballer who plays for London Irish, having previously played for Bath. He has played at international level for England including the successful 2003 World Cup Final. He also holds the honour of being the oldest ever player to play in the Rugby World Cup final (October 2007), aged 36. [citation needed]
Catt attended Grey High School in Port Elizabeth until 1989 and represented Eastern Province at rugby union. His mother, Anne, was English, 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 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.[1] At the start of the 2007-2008 season, he announced he was going to be backs coach for London Irish as well as a player. With the Exiles, he has enjoyed a fruitful twilight of his career and in May 2006 was named Guinness Premiership Player of the Season.[2] He holds the honour of being the oldest ever player to play in a Guinness Premiership final (May 2009), aged 37.
International career
A utility back, Catt played for England at Template:Fullback, Template:Fly-half, Template:Inside centre and even Template:Wing, and was part of the England side that won the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
His international debut came against Wales as a replacement for Rob Andrew. His breakthrough performance, however, came in England's following match against Canada at Twickenham Stadium, 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. 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 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. [citation needed]
For some of his international career, his inclusion was questioned in some quarters. He was booed when he missed a penalty against Australia in 1998 at Twickenham that could have won the match; Australia won by 1 point. Ultimately though his natural ability as a rugby player have 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 in to 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 and Irish Lions tour to Australia but was injured and replaced by Scott Gibbs.
Catt was part of the squad that won the 2003 World Cup, playing instead of Mike Tindall at centre in the semi-final against France because of his superior kicking skills and an injury to Tindall. He kicked the ball in to touch for the final whistle, seeing England become 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.[3] 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, 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.[4]
References
External links
- 1971 births
- Living people
- English rugby union footballers
- South African rugby union footballers
- Rugby union fly-halves
- Rugby union centres
- Rugby union fullbacks
- Rugby union wings
- Bath Rugby players
- London Irish players
- Members of the Order of the British Empire
- England International rugby union footballers
- South Africans of English descent