Retaining Catt key to Rowell's rebuilding task

The old West Country sporting mafia were in full merry- go-round mode yesterday, preparing to take pot-shots at each other from opposite banks of the River Avon. Jack Rowell's widely predicted return to Bath as director of rugby – a challenging move for the former England coach, given that his brief covers virtually every senior managerial role under the sun – was matched in importance, if not in profile, by the decision of the Bristol owner, Malcolm Pearce, to take a hands-on role as chairman and chief executive at the Memorial Ground. Meanwhile, one of the great names of Bristol rugby, Mike Rafter, will be a non-executive director.

Yet the real fun and games have barely started. Bristol, who expect to announce a major overseas signing in the next few days, are also chasing the services of Mike Catt, perhaps Bath's most influential player and certainly the most experienced. Catt is known to be unsettled at the Recreation Ground. News of his state of mind has spread as far as southern France, where Bègles-Bordeaux have offered him terms. But a move along the A4 might be more to the international outside-half's liking, now that he is a family man.

Rowell, who has left Bristol to resume his work at Bath after an eight-year absence, acknowledged that the Catt issue was the most pressing of his immediate concerns. He will also have to address the uncertainty surrounding other leading backs – the wing Iain Balshaw and the centre Kevin Maggs, to name but two – while simultaneously constructing a forward pack capable of winning matches in an increasingly unforgiving Premiership.

But his most formidable task will be to re-create the competitive dynamic that underpinned his remarkable success at Bath between 1984 and 1994.

"When you build that kind of momentum, it sometimes runs on itself even though there may be decay beneath the surface," he said yesterday, by way of explaining Bath's headlong fall last season. "There is no quick fix; once you lose your place in the pecking order, that place is immediately filled and sealed over. Kick-starting this operation from a position of second from bottom will not be straightforward. To begin with, we need more leaders in the dressing room, more people willing to take responsibility rather than hide behind others. They will be difficult to find."

Back in the golden age of Bath rugby, Rowell was surrounded by big characters and accomplished technicians – Brian Ashton, David Robson and Tom Hudson off the field; Stuart Barnes, John Hall and Andy Robinson on it. There are precious few of that calibre in the current set-up, but with Rowell effectively taking control of a revamped board on which the owner and chief executive, Andrew Brownsword, will be less conspicuous, the chances of recruiting much-needed expertise will be enhanced.

Pearce, meanwhile, was in characteristically bullish mood, despite losing both Rowell and his head coach, Dean Ryan, who is thought to be finalising a move to Gloucester. "One door opens, another shuts," he said, before confirming that the New Zealander Peter Thorburn, an All Black selector at the last World Cup, had signed a two-year deal in his place.