Catt Asks For England Midfield "X" Factor

Mike Catt has called for Jonny Wilkinson and Ben Foden to become England’s new midfield duo with the Six Nations tournament starting less than four weeks away.

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The ex England utility back – he played at stand off, inside and outside centre, wing and full back during his 75 caps and four World Cups including two finals – believes Martin Johnson’s England team are well set for a positive Six Nations. He is even more excited about his former team’s chances in the World Cup this autumn, but believes the midfield, currently with Shontayne Hape and Mike Tindall at twelve and thirteen, still needs a major shake up.����

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Catt, who as London Irish’s attack coach will be praying that his side halt a run of ten consecutive defeats in all competitions this weekend in the Heineken Cup, has no beef with either Hape or Tindall.

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But, as the man who Tindall replaced in the 2003 World Cup final starting XV, but who ended the memorable evening by kicking the ball out of play to secure England’s epic victory, he argues that a new combination of Wilkinson at inside centre, and Foden, who would have to be moved up from his current berth as England full back, at outside centre, would bring what Catt describes as an “X Factor” to the midfield.

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“Hape’s grown into the role and has a bit of an off load, but not like New Zealand’s Sonny Bill Williams, whilst Tins is an up and down kind of player,” Catt reasons. “I’d have them both on the plane to the World Cup, especially Mike, because his experience both in camp and also on the field in tight, tense games would be invaluable. But there’s no “X Factor” in that midfield, is there, in the way that Williams, or Australia’s Matt Giteau or even Wales’s James Hook provides?

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“I like the Ben Youngs and Toby Flood half backs combination very much as they are both selfless players for the team, but the more I think about it the more I like the thought of Wilko playing at twelve. He would be a second stand-off when required, his kicking is better than Hape’s, his defence remains exemplary and he knows what it takes to win big games, as he showed both in 2003 and 2007. I also still believe that opposing teams would rather be facing England without Wilko than with him.

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“Then I’d also bring Foden up because he is a magnificent runner and is also phenomenally strong. At the moment all his runs are from deep when he’s usually covering kicks but just imagine the damage he would cause if he got his hands on the ball 50% more than he does right now? That would then mean Delon Armitage would slot in to the full back’s jersey.”

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It is an interesting concept and one that Johnson may well be considering alongside other players looked at including inside centre Riki Flutey and winger-turned outside centre Matt Banahan.

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Elsewhere the man who added an OBE last week in the New Year’s Honours List for services to rugby to the MBE he won as part of England’s 2003 World Cup winning team is more than happy with Johnson’s England.

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“Johnno’s finally getting the selection right, and the coaches are finally singing from the same hymn sheet,” he explained. “The pack’s generally in good shape and I’m loving what I’m seeing from the new guys in the backs, especially Youngs and Chris Ashton. Youngs reminds me of (former Wallaby scrum half) George Gregan because every decision he makes is correct, while Ashton is world-class, a supreme worker and finisher. I believe England can win the Six Nations and will be very competitive indeed in the World Cup. By 2015, when the likes of Youngs, Ashton, Courtney Lawes, Flood, Tom Croft, Dan Cole and others will still be in the their mid-twenties with 50-odd caps each, I reckon England will have a hell of a chance of becoming world champions again at home.”��

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Before all that, of course, comes the more pressing matter of London Irish attempting to re-discover the form that saw them top the Premiership in November. Since then they have lost six Premiership games, including in the last seconds to Bath’s Olly Barkley’s penalty two weekends ago, two Heineken Cup and two LV Cup games in succession.

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“I’ve been here before when I played at Bath and experienced a similar run of results,” Catt recalled. “It’s tough for the younger players but the older ones are not turning it into a crisis. We all know we have world-class players who have not turned bad overnight. I was gutted in the manner we lost to Bath but we just have to get back on our horse again.

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“We’re not facing relegation and one win would put us back up into the mix. Odd as it seems I’m enjoying the challenge as a coach to right the wrongs. I see no reason why we can’t do this at Saracens.”