Mike Catt DENIES Mack Hansen has been left out of Ireland’s squad for the opening World Cup match against Romania for disciplinary reasons… and is refusing to respond to Danny Cipriani’s row allegations.
Mike Catt has denied that Mack Hansen’s surprise omission from Ireland’s squad for the opening World Cup match was due to disciplinary reasons – while also refusing to respond to Danny Cipriani’s sensational claims.
Hansen will not be in the squad for tomorrow’s clash against Romania in Bordeaux, and he is the only one of Andy Farrell’s regulars who must be fit to feature, not make, the 23.
Other frontline stars like Josh van der Flier and Robbie Henshaw are on the bench, but Hansen has been completely left out.
Farrell made it clear during the team’s announcement Thursday that the winger was not injured, leading to speculation about a possible disciplinary reason.
The head coach had mentioned how some of his young players had struggled with the Biarritz environment before their warm-up match against Samoa.
Mike Catt (pictured) has denied that Mack Hansen was left out of Ireland’s squad for the opening World Cup match for disciplinary reasons.
World number one Ireland begin their tournament against Romania on Saturday afternoon.
Hansen (middle) was ruled out due to team turnover, according to Catt, who spoke Friday afternoon.
But when Catt, the Irish attack coach, was asked today if Hansen was out due to a disciplinary breach, he replied: “Not at all, no.”
Catt had earlier suggested it was a simple matter of squad rotation.
“Above all, it’s a long tournament and we have to make sure we take care of everyone,” he said.
“At the same time, there is also good competition in this area. There’s nothing Mack did wrong. It’s not that he played badly at all.
“He did exceptionally well in his pre-season games and as they say, it’s a long competition and we have to keep people fresh as well.”
Catt has refused to respond to allegations of an argument between him and Danny Cipriani (right) made in the latter’s autobiography.
Catt was much less forthcoming when asked about his place in Cipriani’s sensational memoir.
Cipriani did not make England’s final squad for the 2015 World Cup, during which Catt, along with Farrell, served as assistant to Stuart Lancaster.
Although he is highly critical of this setup in his recently published autobiography, Cipriani gives particularly vivid details of an argument with Catt during a pre-tournament training camp, which he claims ended with Catt yelling at him above: “As long as I’m involved, you’ll never play for England again.”
When asked if it was a distraction, Catt replied: “Not at all, no.” Asked if he had any thoughts on Cipriani’s claims, Catt smiled and said, “No.”
