Catt: Shout much louder

Dublin – Ireland’s players must communicate better and “free themselves up” when they face Italy on Saturday after a disastrous start to their Six Nations campaign, said attack coach Mike Catt (above).

Andy Farrell’s men head to Rome hoping to avoid losing their first three games for the first time since the 1998 Five Nations – before Italy were added to the championship.

Catt was part of the England side that ensured the Irish ended up pointless that year, scoring a try in the 35-17 victory on the final day.

The 49-year-old has been criticised for the lack of cut and thrust shown by the backs in the 21-16 defeat by Wales and the 15-13 loss to France.

But Catt, who won the World Cup with England in 2003, said the Ireland players must learn to shout louder.

“Communication is everything,” he said. “In the past, everyone has been very reliant on your nines (scrum-half) and 10s (fly-half) controlling a game. So, again, that’s another huge workon for us.

“In terms of the quietness of some of the players, it’s something that we can be so much better at.”

Catt said it was important for players to impose themselves physically and verbally wherever they played across the backline.

“It’s not just your half-backs controlling it, it’s your centres seeing the space,” he said.

“It’s your wingers then using that ability to get the ball to them and to see the space, with your full-back involved all the time.

“So again, that's a huge one in terms of the overall personalities,” he added. –