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Another of England's gang of 2015 World Cup failures set to work in Ireland

By Online Editors
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Mike Catt is expected to join Ireland as attack coach after the autumn’s Rugby World Cup. The former England coach has agreed a deal to trade Italy for Ireland’s set-up.

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According to the Irish Independent, Catt will be reunited with former England coaching colleague Andy Farrell, who will take over from Joe Schmidt as Ireland head coach after the World Cup in Japan.

The 47-year-old’s addition will be the final piece of Ireland’s new coaching jigsaw, with John Fogarty leaving Leinster to step in as scrum coach. Simon Easterby will continue in his role as forwards specialist, with Richie Murphy staying on as kicking and skills coach.

Outgoing boss Schmidt will hope to steer Ireland past the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in Japan, before returning to his native New Zealand. Former schoolteacher Schmidt will take a break to spend time with family following the World Cup, but will command another top-level post as and when he is ready in the future.

Catt’s impending arrival will put all of England’s World Cup 2015 coaches on Irish shores, with Stuart Lancaster excelling at Leinster and Graham Rowntree joining Munster.

England became the first hosts in World Cup history not to progress past the group stages in 2015, an unwanted record that cost Lancaster and his coaching staff their jobs.

That coaching quartet has quickly restored reputations though, with Lancaster leading Leinster to the 2018 Champions Cup crown and back-to-back PRO14 titles.

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Farrell has forged a pivotal part of Schmidt’s Ireland set-up as the national side swept to the 2018 Six Nations Grand Slam, before claiming a first win over New Zealand on home soil last November.

Both Farrell and Rowntree helped the British and Irish Lions secure a drawn Test series against back-to-back world champions New Zealand on the 2017 tour.

Catt has formed part of Conor O’Shea’s Italy staff, with the Azzurri working through a laborious task of building infrastructure for future success.

As a player Catt helped England win the 2003 World Cup, winning 76 caps between 1994 and 2007, while he also won one Lions cap on the victorious South Africa tour in 1997.

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Bull Shark 2 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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