Tom Catterick waits for Falcons call-up
Dec 9 2010 by Mark Smith, The Journal
FALCONS back Tom Catterick is relishing the battle for a starting shirt, as Newcastle prepare for Saturday’s trip to Exeter Chiefs.
The 20-year-old has featured at fullback, fly-half, winger and even scrum-half so far this season, despite being injured for the first month of the campaign.
And with head coach Alan Tait set to freshen up his selection for the Amlin Challenge Cup encounter, Catterick insists he is just happy to be on the pitch regardless of the number on his back.
“I’m enjoying playing rugby in whatever position, and I just want as much game time as possible,” said the former Barnard Castle School pupil, who has represented England right the way through from Under-16s to Under-20s.
“My favoured position, if I had the choice, would be fly-half, but I enjoy the game time at full-back or wherever else I’m asked to play.
“Eventually I’d like to be in a position where I could settle into playing fly-half, but for the time being I’m more than happy to do what the coaches want me to, and fill in where needs be.”
Having made an unlikely cameo at scrum-half in the Falcons’ last outing at Leicester after Micky Young and Chris Pilgrim had both left the field, Catterick laughed off any suggestions that a more permanent switch to No 9 could be on the cards.
“I did put my hand up for scrum-half when Chris went off injured, but it’s fair to say that’s not a position I’m considering longer term,” he said.
“I stood on the wrong side of the scrum to put the ball in on one occasion, and that probably tells you that I’ve got a lot to learn about the art of playing there!” Highlighting the plethora of options available to the club in the back line, he added: “There’s big competition in all the positions.
“At fly-half you have Jimmy Gopperth who was the Premiership’s top scorer last year, plus Jeremy Manning who is class, not to mention a great talent like Joel Hodgson coming through.
“Jeremy also plays fullback, and even there I’m competing with likes of Alex Tait, Luke Fielden and Charlie Amesbury to get a run-out. There’s plenty of guys going for the shirts, but that’s what I would class as a good squad.
“You always want the best person to be playing regardless of whether or not that happens to be you, and whoever gets the start, I’ll always go up to them and shake their hand.
“You have to support the 15 players on the pitch, even when you’re not selected, and also it gives you even more motivation to go out and improve your own game because you want to prove that you’re worth the shirt.”
Enduring a summer of torment earlier this year, Catterick was forced to watch on from TV at home back in June as his England team-mates competed in the Under-20s World Cup in Argentina without him.
“We were playing in our last warm-up game against Loughborough Students, and in the last ten minutes of the match I got a high pass,” he recalled.
“I tried to take it forward, and my shoulder just dislocated.
“I couldn’t watch the first few World Cup games on the TV because it was just too hard knowing that I could have been there, but as we got into the later stages I wanted to support the boys so I did eventually tune in.”
Revealing the prescribed break which helped point him back on the right track, Catterick said: “The Falcons coaches thought it might be a good idea just to get away from rugby and go on holiday for a week, with the disappointment of missing out on the World Cup.
“I think they were right because it did take my mind off things. When I came back it was a slow process to get the shoulder right, but I’ve come through the other side of it and I’m just enjoying my rugby again now.”
