Michael John Catt OBE (born 17 September 1971) is a South African-born former rugby union player who played for the England national rugby union team. He played professionally for the clubs London Irish and Bath. He earned 75 international caps for England and played in two World Cup Finals, in 2003 (when England won) and 2007. With his appearance in the October 2007 final, at age 36 years 1 month, he became the oldest ever player to play in a Rugby World Cup final. Since 2008, Catt has coached various rugby teams, and has since 2019 been an assistant coach for the Ireland national rugby team. Early life Catt was born on 17 September 1971 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He attended Grey High School in Port Elizabeth until 1989 and represented Eastern Province at rugby union. His mother Anne was English, through whom he qualified to play for England later on, 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 started for Bath in the victorious 1998 Heineken Cup Final as they defeated Brive. 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. At the start of the 2007–08 season, he announced he was going to be backs coach for London Irish as well as a player. Whilst with the Exiles, he enjoyed a fruitful twilight of his career and in May 2006 was named Guinness Premiership Player of the Season. He is the oldest ever player to play in an English Premiership final (May 2009), aged 37, when he was a player / coach at London Irish. On 8 May 2010 he played the final competitive club match of his career. Already a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to rugby. International career A utility back, Catt played for England at fullback, fly-half, inside centre and even wing, and was part of the England side that