Earlier this month club chief executive Nick Blofeld indicated to the Chronicle that the World Cup-winning fly-half would be remaining at The Rec, with summer arrival Sam Vesty then acting as back-up to the South African.
Bath are back, and not before time. The stunning demolition of Wasps by Steve Meehan's men at Twickenham last weekend saw them storm into the Guinness Premiership play-off places as the form team in the country.
Suddenly, the West Country club have the look of genuine title challengers, despite the likelihood of a semi-final trip to Leicester.
And to think that, back at Christmas time, their Australian head coach was shaping up as a prime candidate to join the casualties of the sacking season which is now upon us
That's the dream that Olly Barkley and Butch James indulged in for a moment as they soaked up the applause at Twickenham on Saturday after swatting away the challenge of London Wasps.
The Bath Rugby skipper's preparations for last Saturday's trip to Twickenham weren't exactly ideal.
The scrum-half awoke in the early hours to discover his stomach was doing somersaults, with a few back-flips thrown in for good measure.
The inspirational flanker, who will rejoin the Canberra-based Brumbies for next year's Super 15 competition, says it is a matter of when he will return to Bath, not if.
Despite an exhausting run of three games in eight days – a schedule that saw Bath take an extraordinary 14 championship points from the 15 available – Steve Meehan's side suffered no casualties.
Bath's St George's weekend performance against Wasps was breathtaking.
'Defences win games' is the great Shaun Edwards mantra; in England it has been accepted as a fact without question, a latter day sporting article of faith.
Bath took control of the race for the final Guinness Premiership semi-final spot with a 35-19 drubbing of Wasps at Twickenham.
Bath Rugby head to Twickenham tomorrow full of the joys of spring, following a win against Northampton Saints on Tuesday night.
"There was a great buzz after the match," said Head Coach Steve Meehan about the game. "The mood just gets better and better.
"Once that final whistle went the energy was magnificent. There were a lot of smiles and slaps on the back. The guys are so intent on being as good as they possibly can, so there is an enormous amount of spirit and passion."
The match will not only mark St George's Day, but also a crucial moment in Bath's Guinness Premiership campaign.
Danny Grewcock will be making his 200th appearance for the blue, black and white.
Bath Rugby Team:
15. Nick Abendanon
14. Joe Maddock
13. Matt Carraro
12. Olly Barkley
11. Matt Banahan
10. Butch James
9. Michael Claassens (c)
1. David Barnes
2. Lee Mears
3. Duncan Bell
4. Stuart Hooper
5. Danny Grewcock
6. Andy Beattie
7. Julian Salvi
8. Luke Watson
16. Pieter Dixon
17. Nathan Catt
18. David Wilson
19. Scott Hobson
20. Ben Skirving
21. Scott Bemand
22. Shontayne Hape
23. Jack Cuthbert
The Clubhouse will be open from 4pm for all those who are not travelling to watch the match at Twickenham.
Entrepreneur Bruce Craig emerges as Britain's 229th wealthiest person in the Sunday Times Rich List to be published with the paper this weekend.
That makes him the ninth richest person in the South West in a regional list which also includes his predecessor as chairman of the rugby club, Andrew Brownsword.
But now Bath Rugby is getting serious about business in the literal sense.
Saints were challenging at the top, while Bath languished at the foot of the Premiership, with only Leeds propping up the table beneath us.
New club owner Bruce Craig has called for the English game's wage cap to be increased so that Premiership sides can compete with France's Top 14 big-hitters.
Bath travel to the headquarters of rugby on Saturday knowing that victory over Wasps will put them in a strong position to pull off a gloriously improbable rise into the play-off zone.
Bath have won nine out of their last 10 Premiership matches, the latest a nerve-shredding 21-20 victory against Northampton on Tuesday at The Rec.
Debut tries have become a habit for Noah Cato, the full of flair Saracens wing, who scored, first time out in the Guinness Premiership against Leeds Carnegie in September 2007 and then bagged a try in his opening match for England Saxons in the Portugal match at Edgeley Park in January last year.
A quick and powerful adversary, Noah enhanced his pedigree by starting in the Churchill Cup final against Ireland A in Denver last June, already having been among the England squad for the IRB World Sevens Series in 2006-07.
He was born in Brighton and educated at Hurtspierpoint and the University of Hertfordshire and also impressed with two tries against Argentina in the 2007 Under 19 World Championship during his first season at 15-a-side international level.
Noah then ran in six tries in five matches when England Under 20s won Grand Slam in 2008 and extended that aggregate total to eight in seven games during the subsequent IRB Junior World Championship.
His grandfather was the eminent Glen Wilson, a left half in old parlance and one of the significant figures in the history of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club. By 2002, he had been among only four Albion captains to lift a trophy and was a tough tackling and creative player, not unlike Noah in the union game.
As an additive to his debut try theme, Noah pounced for another in his first match at Wembley last September, racing 80 metres to the Northampton Saints' line when Saracens won 19-16.
