Mark Tainton to leave Bristol Bears after 40 years at the club

Bristol’s all-time record points scorer is leaving the club he currently serves as chief executive as he appears to fall on his sword for an embarrassing salary cap slip-up which has resulted in the sale of several players.

Over 40 years, Mark Tainton has gone from being a player to interim head coach to CEO, being in place as Bristol won their first European silverware, during the rebranding to the Bears and the construction of the High Performance Centre in Failand.

The Daily Mail reports that Tainton is “paying the penalty for a salary cap gaffe that has forced director of rugby Pat Lam into a dramatic fire sale”.

Bristol are believed to have planned to let six players go before they entered the third year of their deals but missed the deadline to do so, meaning that their squad has had to be trimmed with the salary cap reduced from £6.4m to £5m.

Dave Attwood, Antoine Frisch and John Afoa have already announced their departures – despite Afoa being primed for a coaching role – with Nathan Hughes also expected to leave at the end of this season.

The official line from Bristol Bears is that Tainton will be stepping down as CEO “for personal reasons”. His nephew, Tom Tainton, – currently the club’s head of operations – is among the contenders to replace him.

Bristol Bears CEO Mark Tainton looks over the club’s new training facilities as they were being built in Failand – photo: Martin Booth

Mark Tainton said: “It’s always a hard decision to make a change, but I feel after so many years of service to the sport and club that I love, now is the right time to move on.

“I’m looking forward to spending time with my wife Catherine and I’m excited about exploring different opportunities both inside and outside of the game.

“As a proud Bristolian, Bears will always remain close to my heart, and I wish the club every success going forward.”

……………………………….

Read more: Bristol Bears are European champions

……………………………….

Bears chairman Chris Booy said that Tainton “has been a tremendous servant to the club”.

He said: “Aside from his excellent playing and coaching career he has steered the club through an incredible five years of growth and the last two years of a global pandemic which had a huge impact on the club and professional sport.

“During that time Mark worked tirelessly to ensure our players and staff were safe and able to compete at the highest level.

“Seeing Bears secure our first silverware in Europe in the European Challenge Cup in 2020 – albeit behind closed doors – was one of the proudest moments of my life and I’m sure will be a memory that will stay with Mark forever too as a testament to his tireless efforts during the pandemic.

“I’d personally like to thank Mark for all he has done for the club, over so many years, and the club wishes him the very best for his next endeavours.”

Main photo: Martin Booth

Read more: Bristol Bears’ new High Performance Centre is ‘world’s best rugby training facility’

Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: