Lam to be at Bears for 'foreseeable' - Tainton

Pat Lam is under contract at Bristol Bears until 2028 but has been linked with the vacant Wales role

Director of rugby Pat Lam will be at Bristol Bears for the "foreseeable" says club chief operating officer Tom Tainton.

Lam has been linked with the Wales head coaching role but is under contract at the Premiership club until 2028.

Bristol were beaten 34-20 by Bath on Friday night as they fell one match short of reaching their first Premiership final.

"I think it's testament to what Pat has achieved here at Bristol Bears that he's in the conversation," Tainton told BBC Radio Bristol.

"In terms of that Wales role I can say with absolute confidence that Pat Lam is contracted to Bristol Bears and will stay that way.

"We know that there is a lot that we have still got to achieve for the remainder of his contract up until 2028.

"I'm certainly happy to say that Pat is going to be at Bristol Bears for the foreseeable."

Lam has been with the Bears since 2017, taking them to promotion from the Championship during his first season in charge.

They topped the Premiership table in 2021 and this season is the third time they have reached the play-offs. However, the club are still to reach a Twickenham final or add any silverwear tto the European Challenge Cup trophy won in 2020.

The 56-year-old said following defeat at the Recreation Ground that he was "excited" by the prospect of next season and that he has lost no motivation to continue pushing for a title with Bristol.

Tainton added: "[The] ambition is for us to be at the top table of domestic and European rugby and the ambition is for us to win silverware."

'Intentionally gone with smaller squad'

Bristol have just 31 players on their books for 2025-26 - a reduction on this season by seven players - and an additional 19 in their senior academy.

Versatile back Tom Jordan, winger Max Pepper and second row Pedro Rubiolo are the headline signings but Tainton said the club had made a decision to cut back on numbers.

"At the moment and where we've been over the past 18 months, we think that it's right that we cut our cloth accordingly, we put our focus and our energy and time into young players," Tainton said.

"We've intentionally gone with a smaller squad, we've trusted in our academy and those young players.

"It's really bore fruit for us this year and we want to be a club that gives opportunities to homegrown players.

"We believe that we have a squad next season that is more than capable of competing for the top four, as this group has done this year."

Tainton pointed to the development of homegrown players such as prop George Kloska and second rows Joe Batley and Joe Owen as evidence their strategy was working and helping the club progress.

"I'm really proud of the brand of rugby that we play, I'm really proud of some of the results that we've had, particularly away from home this season and who can forget the result against Leicester Tigers in December - and I think we can reflect and say there's been genuine progress for Bristol Bears this season."