Catalans Dragons man lifts lid on Steve McNamara confirmed exit, his replacement and how the team was told

Catalans Dragons full-back Sam Tomkins has confirmed the dismissal of Steve McNamara and lifted the lid on how the group was informed.

Nothing official has come from the club at the time of writing, but Tomkins has stood up the reports which emerged on Tuesday afternoon that McNamara had been relieved from his duties ahead of this week’s clash with Wigan Warriors. The decision comes on the back of three straight defeats and six losses inside their opening 11 Super League games, with the 40-0 defeat to St Helens last Thursday ultimately being the straw that broke the camel’s back for club owner Bernard Guasch.

It brings an end to McNamara’s seven and a half seasons in charge at the Stade Gilbert Brutus, with the Yorkshireman winning the Challenge Cup and taking the Dragons to two Grand Finals in that time.

Tomkins has played a huge role in the success McNamara has seen in Perpignan, with the full-back first joining Catalans in 2019 and making 115 appearances under the head coach’s stewardship.

And, the 36-year-old has spoken to Sky Sports to confirm the decision and paint a picture of what the last couple of days have been like in the south of France.

“It was pretty quick really,” Tomkins said. “We went into the club as normal for our 8am meeting and Steve came in and said that he’d had a meeting before that the club had made the decision to let him go as head coach.

“It was pretty tough, we didn’t see it coming first thing in the morning but given the defeat last week to St Helens, the club have obviously thought about that.

“It wasn’t just that one defeat, I think the owner isn’t happy with the season overall, as he shouldn’t be, we’re losing more games than we’re winning. He obviously thinks the change needed to come and removing the head coach is what he thinks can be the catalyst for that.

“We thought we had a very good squad (at the start of the year) and I still think we have a very good squad and for some reason it’s not clicked.

“We got off to a poor start, hit a little bit of form and died off again and as a group of players we take responsibility for that. We’re certainly part of the reason Steve is no longer head coach but at the start of the season, as every club does, you say you’ve had a great pre-season, you feel confident, but I certainly didn’t envisage by May we’d be in this situation.”

Joel Tomkins to replace Steve McNamara on interim basis

Tomkins has also confirmed that his brother Joel Tomkins is the man who has been asked to take the reins on an interim basis until a permanent appointment is made.

“My brother Joel will take over in the interim,” the former England international added. “Yesterday when Steve left Joel took over training and he’ll be in charge.

“We’ve got 16 games left and Joel will come in and try and implement some change and while that’s going on, the club will be working hard to find the best option, whether that’s Joel going on further or bringing somebody in, I’m not too sure.

“It’s all very new, I don’t think any decisions have been made but the one that has is that Joel will take over. He’s relatively new as a coach, he’s only been assisting for half a season so he has the second half of this season to implement some change and hopefully as a group we can prove we’re a little bit better than we’ve been showing on the field.”

St Helens boss Paul Wellens pays tribute to Steve McNamarahttps://t.co/f1qMkiu7iQ

— Serious About Rugby League (@SeriousAboutRL) May 21, 2025