McNamara appointed new Catalan boss

Catalan Dragons have confirmed the appointment of Steve McNamara as the club’s new head coach.

The 45-year-old has signed a two-and-a-half year contract after spending the last three and a half years working as an assistant coach in the NRL, initially with Sydney Roosters and more recently with the New Zealand Warriors.

McNamara said: “I am honoured to be appointed as the Head Coach of the Catalan Dragons.

“The club has a huge potential and I look forward to working closely with the current group of staff and players, helping the team to improve in all areas of our performance and organization.”

McNamara played more than 300 top-level games for Great Britain, Hull FC, Bradford, Wakefield and Huddersfield from 1989-2003 before moving into coaching.

He then worked as Bradford Academy head coach, leading them to Grand Final success in his first year, before taking over the senior side from 2006 to 2010. He left the role to become England head coach for the next five years.

McNamara became assistant coach to Trent Robinson at Sydney after the 2013 World Cup and he joined the Warriors for the start of the 2017 season.

Jerome Guisset and Michael Monaghan will both remain as part of McNamara’s coaching staff as assistants.

Catalan chairman Bernard Guasch said: “The signing of Steve McNamara is a great news for our club.

“My wish was to find an English coach, recognised and respected in his country and in this competition and the choice of Steve, the former England coach, was the best in my opinion.

“He expressed his desire to come in France to lead the Dragons and we were lucky that he was available immediately. I hope he will help the team to earn confidence and ambition in this difficult period.

“He will arrive at Perpignan tomorrow, with a first important game on Saturday at Warrington.”