And that has given Maggs added incentive to bury English dreams at the weekend.

‘‘They are some very good players from Bath in the England squad but hopefully I can hit a few of them,’’ joked Maggs.

But beneath the banter is an appreciation of the talent fellow Bath centre Catt possesses.

He added: ‘‘Mike’s just come back from injury and he’s probably one of the best backs in the Premiership, if not the best.

‘‘He has the all-round game he’s a great passer, a great kicker and his vision of the game to put people through holes is very good. He’s obviously going to be a very big threat to us for England.

‘‘I’m looking forward to playing against him. I’ve been against him in a couple of England games when he’s been there and I’ve been out on the wing, but I’ve never played against him in the centre.’’

Not that all the midfield talent is restricted to the English side.

Maggs, in the absence of Lions tourist Rob Henderson, takes to the field alongside Brian O’Driscoll and the 27-year-old is equally impressed by his international team-mate.

‘‘They’re both very good players and they’re both match winners,’’ he said.

‘‘They both put you through holes or find a way to put you away and they have both helped me progress in my own game.

‘‘You’re learning from them all the time and Brian is one of the best centres in the world at the moment if you look at his Lions form and what he’s done over the last few months. They’re both great players.’’

Maggs also has his own agenda and that is to stake a claim to his Ireland shirt with the injured Henderson almost certainly out of the picture for the autumn internationals.

‘‘Me and Rob have been in and out over the last few years he would play a few games, then I would play a few, and then Brian came on the scene.

‘‘I played with him on his debut out in Australia and things have gone on from there. Then Rob played very well last season and he had a great Lions tour.

‘‘For me, I’m just trying to stay in the squad, keep playing well and keep putting the pressure on them.

‘‘It’s about 22 players now, not just the starting 15, but my main aim is to try and push them as much as possible and be in the first team myself.’’

Maggs was promoted from the bench following the miserable defeat to Scotland at Murrayfield last month and has held onto his place thanks to his performance in the victory over Wales.

‘‘It’s always special to get called into a squad and then the team, and even more so when things go well,’’ said Maggs.

‘‘But there are lots of things to put right from last week against Wales.

‘‘We should have scored a lot more points and we did make a lot of mistakes, and we have to be on the top of our form if we’re to stand any chance at all against England.’’