​Butch James declared himself ready for a full 80 minutes of Guinness Premiership rugby next weekend after breezing through his comeback game against Sale today.

The South African World Cup winner was replaced at half-time, but not before he had helped Bath put 28 points on the board – and proved to The Rec he had lost none of his touch.

James, 31, was making his first appearance since suffering a serious knee ligament injury against Newcastle Falcons almost 10 months ago.

“I’m prepared to play the full 80 against London Irish next week but I’ve still got to see if I make the team. I think Nicky Little’s been one of our best players this year so we’ll see how things go,” said the fly-half.

“I was happy with how it went today. I was a bit tired at half-time but other than that it was alright. I was quite keen to play for another 10 minutes but the coach cornered me and told me to come off.

“The knee was good, I didn’t feel it all, so I’m really happy. I had some ice on it but I didn’t need a massage.”

James said his team-mates had made his return to action a smooth one – and he reserved special praise for Ryan Davis, who played at inside centre and kicked five out of six conversions.

“The guys came out today and wanted to play, and it’s much easier for me if everyone wants to get their hands on the ball. I just get in between them and the scrum-half and distribute,” said James

“Ryan played really well and made my game a whole lot easier. He’s quite a vocal guy out on the field and I think that’s what he’s been lacking. We’ve got some brilliant centres but they don’t talk as much as he does, and I think that’s why he’s been battling at 10.”

Bath assistant coach Brad Davis said he could foresee no problem with James playing for the whole match against the Exiles, provided his team-mates put their noses to the grindstone.

“If we’re all doing our job as a complete unit and we’ve got 14 other guys offering themselves around the field, I think he’s got enough,” said Davis.