By Glen Leat
June 15 2002

The fur could be flying around the West Country shortly as both Bath and Bristol try to either retain or secure the services of the Cattmeister this summer. Reports in the local press is causing a great deal of debate on whether Mike Catt has played his last game for Bath.

In a week in which Bath fans could see the light at the end of the tunnel with the arrival of new supremo Jack Rowell, a story has hit the back pages of the local press announcing the potential departure of arguably Bath's most important player, Mike Catt. In a recent ERE poll the vast majority of you believe that Rowell will make a big impact on Bath (see results below) and this could well be what has created the Catt story in the first place.

Question: What Impact Will Jack Rowell Have On Bath Rugby? Massive 58% A Lot 27% Neutral 2% Some 5% Very Little 8%

Despite Bristol reaching the Zurich Premiership Final, getting in to Europe next season and finishing well ahead of Bath in the League, Jack Rowell opted to leave the currently more successful club for their closest rivals even though Bath are in total disarray, looking tired beyond belief and standing a good chance next season of struggling yet again. Therefore it is no coincidence that a story should suddenly surface to the effect that the key player of Bath is unhappy with the club and could be snapped up by Bristol to replace Jason Little. In journalistic terms this is just a case of tit-for-Catt!

Who knows whether Mike Catt is having problems at Bath at the moment but I cannot believe that Jack Rowell, shrewd operator that he is, will allow someone as important as Catty to leave the club let alone join Bristol. And I cannot believe that Catty, lover of Bath Rugby that he is, will leave our club so close to a testimonial which would net him a significant pay day.

It is also worth noting that whilst Bristol did a lot better than Bath last year they are perennial underperformers and I cannot believe that Catty thinks he would have a more successful future with them than he will with us. Catty is staying at Bath - trust me I am a vet!!!!

Let's look at Catty's Bath stats:

Total for Bath Games: 203 As substitute: 2 Points scored: 787

Let's look at the only Catt going to Bris next season - Tom Catt: