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.”