Ben Foden delighted Mike Catt has joined England – Rugby News Update
Mike Catt, the former England rugby player joined Stuart Lancaster’s coaching back staff ahead of the tour of South Africa, which is scheduled for June. England will play a three-match test series along with two mid-week games on their tour.
After offering the job to a few candidates to join Lancaster’s management team, most notably to Andy Farrell and Wayne Smith, the Rugby Football Union on Tuesday announced that Mike Catt has been offered the role of the backs’ coach on an interim basis.
However, the England full-back Ben Foden has tipped Catt to succeed and saying that he is relishing the chance to work with the former London Irish’s coach.
Praising the former World Cup winner, Boden said, "Catty has won a World Cup with England and what we are trying to achieve with England is to build towards the next World Cup."
He also added that he is the right man for the job by saying, "I have heard that he is a very good attacking coach. I haven't worked with him before, but from afar he looks like a guy who knows his rugby and lives and breathes it.”
England is looking for an attacking verve and with the likes of Foden, Chris Ashton and Owen Farrell in the England ranks; Catt will be looking to nurture his national team into a more attacking unit. During the Six Nations tournament, England could only
manage seven tries in total, and Foden believes that the new backs’ coach can unleash the attacking potential in the fullbacks.
Ben said, "He has played against some of the world's best players and knows how to break down defences and be tactically minded and that is what you need at international level.”
Catt has not been offered a permanent position with England but the former England boss, Brian Ashton believes that if Catt can instil his philosophy as a player into the current crop, then he will land the job on a permanent basis.
He was only offered the job after Andy Farrell and Wayne Smith rejected the offers extended to them, and Catt really has to prove his credentials in order to earn a permanent deal.
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