Bath v London Irish: Teams

London Irish welcome back fit-again Mike Catt for Saturday's Guinness Premiership showdown with Bath at the Rec.

The England international has recovered from the nose injury he suffered against Gloucester earlier this month to return to the city where he spent the majority of his distinguished career.

Catt starts at inside centre and is partnered on the outside by Samoan international Seilala Mapusua who switches midfield roles.

In the pack there is one personnel and one positional change from last Sunday's game with London Wasps.

Declan Danaher switches with Steffon Armitage from openside to blindside flanker with Richard Thorpe taking over from Juan Leguizamon at No.8.

Exiles director of rugby Brian Smith is hoping his side can bounce back from their last two Premiership defeats as he sets his sights on finishing in a play-off place.

"The outcome of our last two matches has been disappointing and has been a setback for our hopes of a top four finish," said Smith.

"We believe we still have a chance of making the play-offs and are going to have a crack at it. That means winning five out of six games which we're capable of."

Bath news

Bath welcome back four England internationals, Michael Lipman, Steve Borthwick, Matt Stevens and Lee Mears, as they look to get their campaign back on track.

Michael Claassens and Olly Barkley join the returning four from England duty, with Butch James still out with a shoulder injury.

A bonus point win for the hosts would see them join leaders Gloucester at the top of the Premiership table.

Teams:

Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Michael Stephenson, 13 Alex Crockett, 12 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 Olly Barkley, 9 Michael Claassens; 1 David Flatman, 2 Lee Mears, 3 Matt Stevens, 4 Steve Borthwick (capt), 5 Danny Grewcock, 6 Jonny Faamatuainu, 7 Michael Lipman, 8 Daniel Browne.

Replacements: 16 Pieter Dixon, 17 Duncan Bell, 18 Peter Short, 19 Chris Goodman, 20 Mike Baxter, 21 Shaun Berne, 22 Tom Cheeseman.

London Irish: 15 Topsy Ojo, 14 Tomas De Vedia, 13 Seilala Mapusua, 12 Mike Catt, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Eoghan Hickey, 9 Paul Hodgson; 1 Clarke Dermody, 2 David Paice, 3 Faan Rautenbach, 4 Nick Kennedy, 5 Bob Casey (capt), 6 Declan Danaher, 7 Steffon Armitage, 8 Richard Thorpe.

Replacements: 16 Tonga Lea'aetoa, 17 Stuart Mackie, 18 Gary Johnson, 19 Phil Murphy, 20 Gonzalo Tiesi, 21 Warren Fury, 22 Ross Broadfoot.