After twelve seasons spent as a senior player for the Catalans Dragons, then seven others at the heart of the reactor, as assistant to Steve McNamara, Thomas Bosc will change roles in 2025. The coach’s desire to bring change to the interior of its staff required the repositioning of Thomas Bosc who will now bring his expertise as director of development and training.
Thomas Bosc was part of all the adventures with the Catalan Dragons. From the birth of the Union Treiziste Catalane (2000), to the first season of the Dracs in the Super League (2006), through two championship semi-finals (2009, 2014) as a player and three others, in quality deputy (2018, 2021, 2023). The 41-year-old father, with 221 SL matches in blood and gold, is the only player to have passed the 1,000 points mark with his favorite club (1,173 points and 59 tries).
The 2024 season of the Catalans Dragons and this seventh non-qualifying place, eleven months after the final lost at Old Trafford, sees Thomas Bosc leave the management. In charge of the attack, the former player of the XIII of France, loyal to the club, has always taken his responsibilities, which testifies to his deep attachment to the Catalan Dragons. Even in difficult times, as for the offensive sterility proposed this season, Bosc stood up, even if he cannot be held solely responsible. Andy Last himself decided to leave the staff, for Hull FC, after a short season at Brutus. A staff which will see the arrival of a new performance director, Ryan Whitley, who was the physical trainer for the Sydney Roosters this season.
“We did not offer him this position by default to rehire him for his services to the club”
According to our information (Saturday October 5 edition), Joel Tomkins will replace Andy Last to oversee the team’s defense. Like Eamon O’Carroll in 2023, Thomas Bosc will remain close to the management of the Catalan Dragons, and his missions, now very varied, revolve around three main axes. Training, development of young players, detection and professional structure. “We did not offer this position to Thomas by default to rehire him for his services to the club”justifies sporting director Neil McIlroy who adds that “this is not a thank you for his seven years, but his expertise and his qualities will be very useful in his new functions”. A change of position developed by the Scottish leader of the Dracs.
Thomas Bosc will therefore be alongside the Dracs reserve (which he coached in 2017), with Rémi Casty, Justin Murphy and Julien Touxagas, but also with the U19 staff (Patrick Noguera, Sébastien Maris). It is obvious that the Catalans Dragons club has a great need at this level, to support the golden generation that is arriving, prepare them, supervise them and provide them with the technical and tactical knowledge they lack, while strengthening their mentality. Guillermo-Aispuro-Bichet, Yacine Ben Abdeslem, Lenny Marc, Giovanni Descalzi-Ganthier, Lucas Tignol, Clément Martin, Killian Buche and Matéo Jimenez-Lopez are on the club’s shelves, to become the famous “Dragons of tomorrow”.
It’s up to Thomas Bosc to play, he who has been, in recent seasons, the guarantor of Catalan identity in the management of the Dracs and who will leave a huge void. It is now up to Steve McNamara to make his choices and reveal the names of his two deputies who have the 2025 project to prepare. Who with Joel Tomkins? Laurent Frayssinous, Aurélien Cologni for the club and French spirit or a second British assistant (Ryan Sheridan?). The response should come mid-next week. In the meantime, Thomas Bosc is enjoying a well-deserved vacation before discovering his new duties from November 4.
