Catt clan split over Mike's greatest test

Catt's South African father Jimmy revealed to Sportsmail he will be supporting his son but would not be "too upset" if the men in green and gold came out on top.

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Oh, brothers: (from left) Mike Peter, dad Jimmy, Richard and Douglas

He will be in the Stade de France with his other sons Douglas and Peter, who were born in the UK and support England, and youngest boy Richard, born in South Africa and more likely to back the Boks.

Back home in Port Elizabeth, mother Anne takes a more Anglo-Saxon view. Born in Hemel Hempstead, she will be watching the game on a big screen in her adopted city and has no doubt who the family should be supporting: "England, of course.

"Blood is thicker than water," snapped the music teacher. "I'll make sure they keep in line. You have to be strict when you've got four boys."

But Jimmy said: "It's a difficult one. Of course, we'll all be supporting Mike and hope he has a good game in what will be his 75th cap and probably his last.

"We're very proud of him and he's done great things for England. If he plays well and England win, then great.

"If he plays well and South Africa win — even better. I won't be too upset if the Springboks win because they are my team, especially when Mike isn't playing them."

Anne and Jimmy, who are divorced but remain friends, lived in both England and South Africa, finally settling in Port Elizabeth, where Mike was born.

He attended Grey High School in the city and played junior rugby before representing Eastern Province. While touring England as a student, he started playing club rugby and later joined Bath.

Anne said: "I speak to Michael regularly and he sends me text messages. I don't really watch the smaller games in South Africa or England, or some of the internationals.

"Too many of them just kick the ball from one side of the pitch to the other. I want to see good running rugby with plenty of attacking and Michael is very capable of doing that."

She admits that the last five to 10 minutes will be hard to watch. "The tension just gets too much," she said.

"The England crowd needs to get behind the team. I remember when 70,000 fans booed Michael off the pitch at Twickenham. It was shameful — no one goes out to play badly for their country."

Jimmy, however, was more hard-nosed, saying: "Tough. He deserved it because he played awfully. He was going through a bad patch, which happens to all players, but he was big enough and played through it. You don't get as many caps as Mike has without being a good player."

But in true rugby tradition, whatever the result, the Catt family will be partaking in liquid refreshment in Paris tomorrow night.