As Bristol host a South Africa XV at Ashton Gate, 33-year-old COO Tom Tainton says rugby is at an crossroads – but the future is bright
Tom Tainton does not turn 34 until January. Often wearing a wide grin, the chief operating officer of Bristol Bears looks even younger than that.
In a perilous financial landscape, not even halfway through a season that has already lost two Premiership clubs, his enthusiasm provides a welcome tonic. Indeed, Tainton flips the pervading sense of pessimism on its head.
“With rugby, we are scratching the surface,” he says. “At the moment, there’s a lot of doom and gloom. But that makes it an exciting opportunity because we’re at a crossroads.
“It’s that 1992, pre-Premier League moment that football had. It can go one of two ways, but if you have people that are energised, who care about innovation and are willing to take some risks, you can reap the rewards of that over the next five or 10 years.”