Bears director of rugby Pat Lam has focused on retention with just six new signings
Bath Rugby’s Ethan Staddon in action (Photo by Bob Bradford – CameraSport via Getty Images)
Bristol Bears’ transfer business ahead of the 2026/27 season has been the most underwhelming since Pat Lam took over at the club back in 2017, but the man at the helm remains optimistic.
Arguably, the club that previously landed the likes of Charles Piutau, Semi Radradra, George Smith, and just last year added Louis Rees-Zammit, has signed just two players with significant experience in the top flight ahead of the new campaign, adding Bath’s third or fourth choice openside flanker Ethan Staddon and bringing back Josh Caulfield, from Cham Rugby side Ealing Trailfinders after he was deemed surplus to requirements at Bristol 12 months ago.
READ MORE: Rugby transfer rumours and news: Released Gloucester and Bath players find new clubs
Instead, Lam and his recruitment team, headed by Gethin Watts, have targeted young potential, adding four Championship players in Khalik Kareem [Worcester Warriors], Louie Sinclair [Cornish Pirates], Sol Moody [Cornish Pirates] and Tobi Wilson [Ealing Trailfinders].
The Bears director of rugby Lam explained he has used his budget, which appears to be more constranined than in past seasons, to retain big-name players rather than bring in fresh faces as he hopes to have a second shot at winning the Gallagher PREM title for the first time with the core of players who were there last season, after an unprecedented injury crisis right from the opening day of the league campaign derailed his ambitions.
Lam said: “The biggest thing that we’ve done is you have to spend to retain some of the guys that we’ve retained.
“We have agreed new contracts for BV [Benhard Janse van Rensburg], Pedro Rubiolo, Bill Mata, and so forth. And then we’ve got some good young talent coming through behind, obviously, Ethan Staddon, we’ve got Khalik Kareem coming through. We’ve got Sol Moody, who was named Championship Hooker of the Year. Young Louis Sinclair, so he’ll add some depth behind there in 10. Tobi Wilson is at Ealing. So we’ve got some young English guys coming through, I think that was a real target for us.”
Lam inferred that while retention of players isn’t as sexy to fans as new signings, in the big picture, it is even more important as the players are embedded and experienced at playing within his system, ‘The Bears Way.’
He said: “I think the biggest thing, the retention that we had, if the main ones were signed elsewhere, it would be thrown out as massive signings elsewhere.
“Just imagine if BV was any other club’s signing, it’d be pretty big news. And so, I think we really focused on retaining that core group. And our recruitment team did a great job keeping all of the boys on board for next season.
“Then obviously Stevie Luatua and AJ MacGinty signed deals at the last minute at the end there too, and they’ll have an impact. Them being in our squad next year is massive insurance, sharing the workload with some of the other experienced guys.”
The Bears players who are not involved in international games returned to the High Performance Centre today [July 13] to get pre-season underway.
Players sgned for 2026/27
- Josh Caulfield, Lock, Ealing Trailfinders (ENG)
- Ethan Staddon, Back row, Bath (ENG)
- Louie Sinclair, Fly-half, Cornish Pirates (ENG)
- Tobi Wilson, Fullback, Ealing Trailfinders (ENG)
- Sol Moody, Hooker, Cornish Pirates (ENG)
- Khalik Kareem, Back row, Worcester Warriors (ENG)
Players leaving in 2025/26
- Sam Grahamslaw, Prop, Ealing Trailfinders (ENG)
- Will Capon, Hooker
- James Dun, Lock, Harlequins (ENG)
- Steele Barker, Lock, Cornish Pirates (ENG)
- Santiago Grondona, Back row, Pau (FRA)
- Sam Wolstenholme, Scrum-half, Exeter (ENG)
- Rich Lane, Fullback
- Benjamin Elizalde, Fullback, Newcastle (ENG)
- John Edwards (Senior academy), Back row
- Raff Weston (Senior academy), Fly-half
- Joe Jenkins, Centre, Leicester (ENG)
- Toby Baker (Senior academy), Centre
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