Former England head coach is set to be named as the new coach at Catalans Dragons.
Following a record 12-56 defeat at the Stade Gilbert Brutus on Saturday, Catalans president, Bernard Guasch, told the assembled press that he had agreed a deal with a new coach but failed to reveal his name.
The move comes from left field, after speculation had been pointing towards former coaches Mick Potter and Andrew McFadden or Warrington coach Tony Smith.
The decision to appoint the current New Zealand Warriors assistant coach comes after the Catalans supremo sought advice from his former coach, Trent Robinson, a close friend of McNamara, who also served as Robinson’s assistant at the Sydney Roosters for two seasons.
McNamara’s coaching career began in 2004 at Bradford, where he coached the Bradford Academy team to Grand Final success in his first year at the club.
He was named as Bradford’s first-team coach in 2006 following the departure of Brian Noble. He stayed for four years without enjoying great success before his contract was mutually terminated in July 2010.
In the meantime, he had been appointed Great Britain assistant coach in April 2007 and he was appointed the part-time England coach in April 2010 until the end of the 2010 Super League season. He became full-time England coach afterwards and coached England to the 2013 Rugby League World Cup semi-final at Wembley, suffering a heartbreaking late defeat to New Zealand.
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