Bristol Bears CEO heading to the exit - report

Long-serving Bristol Bears stalwart Mark Tainton is set to leave the Gallagher Premiership side - reportedly off the back of the gaffe which saw the club needing to offload players to remain under the salary.

The Daily Mail report that Tainton - the former interim head coach and current chief executive officer - is being held accountable for the error that has seen a slew of players heading to the exit as Bristol look to remain under the new Premiership salary cap.

Big-name players like Dave Attwood, John Afoa, Nathan Hughes and Alapati Leiua are departing the club this season.

It was reported that the club missed a deadline to offload a total of six players, a backstop which meant a year extension on their contracts kicked in.

It's been a difficult season for the West country outfit, who currently sit 10th in the Premiership, a league which topped in the regular season just one year ago.

The former fly-half spent twelve years as a technical coach with Ireland and served as interim Head Coach during the second half of the 2016/17 Premiership campaign.

In 2017, Tainton took over as Chief Operating Officer and played a leading role in the successful rebrand to the Bristol Bears.

Ahead of the 2019/20 campaign Tainton was appointed Chief Executive Officer.