Kevin Walters is expected to sacrifice a role in the end-of-season World Cup after being appointed as Catalans Dragons' next coach.

The 40-year-old former Australia stand-off, who is on the backroom staff of Kangaroos coach Ricky Stuart, is due to arrive in the south of France in October to take up a three-year contract.

That would mean missing his country's World Cup bid.

Walters, currently coaching Ipswich Jets in the Queensland Cup and assistant to State of Origin boss Mal Meninga, will take over from fellow Australian Mick Potter, who is leaving to join St Helens.

Former Canberra and Brisbane player Walters, who missed out to Ivan Henjak when the Broncos chose a successor to Wayne Bennett for 2009, was persuaded to come to Super League by former Great Britain coach David Waite.

It was Waite, in his role of football director, who took Potter to Perpignan just over two years ago and he continued to act on behalf of the French club on his return to Australia.

Catalans general manager Christophe Levy said: "We hope Kevin will continue the good work of Mick Potter.

"Kevin is a great character and very much appreciated by the players and staff everywhere he has played or coached.

"His fantastic player career gives him instant credit among the players.

"Our club is still very young. We still have to work a lot to establish ourselves in the engage Super League and reach our goal of winning titles.

"Kevin's personality, coaching abilities and competitive nature will match ours for sure."

Walters, one of three rugby league playing brothers, made 315 appearances in Australia's National Rugby League and had a brief spell with Warrington in 2001.

He made 22 State of Origin appearances and won two Premiership titles with the Broncos.

He said: "I'm really looking forward to the challenge of coaching the Catalans Dragons for the next three seasons.

"It's such a wonderful opportunity for me and I'm excited to be a part of one of the newest rugby league clubs in the world.

"After meeting with the club last week, I had a great feeling about their passion and vision for the game, which I found very attractive and complemented my views.

"My family are also very excited about the move to the south of France and the chance to become part of the local way of life."

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