Axed England star Mike Catt responded to his Calcutta Cup cold-shoulder by scoring a stunning solo try as Bath inflicted a seventh successive Premiership defeat on Harlequins.

Quins, without a league win since mid-November, will drop to the Premiership basement if Leeds beat Newcastle at Headingley on Sunday.

Bath, just one place and one point above Quins before kick-off, took charge with a devastating early scoring burst, and it was fly-half Catt who proved the catalyst, taking just five minutes to bring a capacity crowd to its feet.

Catt was dropped by England boss Clive Woodward for last weekend's Six Nations clash against Scotland as Woodward preferred a midfield combination of Will Greenwood and Mike Tindall.

But 56 times-capped Catt showed his undoubted quality by cutting the Quins defence to shreds on a 35-metre sprint to the line.

Scrum-half Gareth Cooper's rapid-fire pass gave Catt the platform to attack and he exploded through a huge gap before sprinting around full-back David Flemen and claim a memorable touchdown.

Centre Olly Barkley added the conversion, and Bath were at it again just five minutes later as they shook off any lingering hangover from their Heineken Cup quarter-final defeat by Llanelli a fortnight ago.

This time, Catt was the creator. His trademark long pass enabled Iain Balshaw to make the hard yards and after Balshaw's fellow wing Tom Voyce was hauled down, supporting skipper Dan Lyle picked up and scored.

Quin's fly-half Paul Burke booted a penalty in between Bath's tries but the early home onslaught ultimately proved crucial.

Tindall missed the game as he rested a bruised shoulder ahead of England's Six Nation appointment with Ireland next Saturday - a club official described it as purely a precautionary measure - but the Bath backs looked sharper than for some time.

Quins managed to shore up their defence after Lyle's effort but Bath went further in front just before half-time when full-back Matt Perry dropped a goal.

Quins had their Samoan hooker Ace Tiatia sin-binned on 39 minutes and they faced an uphill struggle in the second period after changing ends one man short and 15-3 adrift.

Burke though, brought them back into contention through a 45th-minute penalty and a drop-goal 12 minutes later that scraped over via the crossbar.

Given Burke's erratic form this season, Burke's six-point contribution was enough to cause a few flutters among a nervous home crowd.

Barkley then slotted a 67th-minute penalty though, which gave Bath the confidence to put some impressive passages of play together as both Catt and the impressive Voyce went close to adding further tries.

Bath suffered an injury blow near the end when Welshman Cooper limped off - a worry for caretaker Wales coach Steve Hansen ahead of next weekend's game against France - yet nothing could mask the sense of relief emanating from all corners of the Recreation Ground.

Bath's victory has at least taken them away from the Premiership danger area, but Quins are now right in the mire and coach John Kingston has a major job on his hands, especially if Leeds send them plummeting to rock-bottom on Sunday afternoon.

Teams:

Bath: Perry, Balshaw, Maggs, Barkley, Voyce, Catt, Cooper, D. Barnes, Regan, Emms, Borthwick, Grewcock, G. Thomas, N. Thomas, Lyle, Long.

Replacements: Chrystie for Cooper (68), Long for Regan (39), Scaysbrook for Borthwick (80), Gabey for Lyle (52), Regan for Long (54).

Not Used: Dorsey, Crockett, Danielli.

Tries: Catt, Lyle.

Cons: Barkley.

Pens: Barkley.

Drop Goals: Perry.

Harlequins: D. Slemen, Moore, Greenwood, Burrows, Jewell, Burke, Duncombe, Leonard, Tiatia, Olver, Morgan, White-Cooper, Winters, Sheriff, Diprose.

Replacements: Codling for Burrows (59), Douglas for Olver (71), Bell for Winters (58).

Not Used: Roddam, Alesbrook, Bemand, O'Neill.

Pens: Burke 2.

Drop Goals: Burke.

Sin Bin: Tiatia (40).

Att: 8,200

Ref: Chris White (RFU).