Bath Rugby have confirmed South African fly-half Butch James has put pen to paper for at least another three years with the West Country club.

The renewal will take James up to the end of 2011/12 season.

“I have made some really good friends in Bath and am really happy playing rugby here and hope to keep playing well for Bath,” said James, who has so far made 22 appearances in the Bath colours and scored 113 points to date for the club.

Head Coach, Steve Meehan said: “It is fantastic news. He is a great asset to the club, on and off the pitch, and we are all very excited to be able to continue to work with him for at least another three seasons.”

“I think the re-signing of Butch is bigger than the original signing of Butch. The impact that he has had on the Guinness Premiership has been outstanding and for Bath to be able to maintain and keep a player of that calibre shows the intent that this club has.”

But James hinted that he may have closed the door on his international career.  “I am not sure. I think my days as an international player might be numbered,” he said. “I would still really like to make the Lions Tour. If I make the selection for that, we will see from there.”