Front-row duo Kyle Traynor and Jake Kerr have joined Leicester Tigers.

Loosehead prop Traynor and hooker Kerr worked with the Tigers squad during pre-season and gained gametime in the build-up to the new campaign, with Traynor also playing in the opening weeks of the Premiership ‘A’ League season.

Traynor, 31, gained the first of 12 caps for Scotland in 2009. He moved from Edinburgh to Bristol ahead of the 2012/13 season and was part of their Aviva Premiership squad last season before teaming up with the Tigers.

Kerr is a former Scotland Under-20s cap and made a tryscoring appearance in the first of Tigers’ warm-up fixtures against the Ospreys in August.

The 21-year-old Kerr played for Watsonians and Boroughmuir, gaining representative honours at two age levels for Scotland before moving to study at Loughborough University.

Tigers head coach Matt O’Connor said: “We’ve been looking to add to the front-row group and we’ve had a look at both guys.

“Kyle has plenty of experience with Edinburgh and Bristol as well as playing Test rugby, while Jake is an ambitious young man who had some success in Scotland age-groups. We think they will both do well here as part of a strong group of front-rowers.”

Traynor, who already has a degree in quantity surveying, will combine his Tigers career with studies for a masters degree at Oxford University.

He said: “It’s an absolute honour to join Leicester Tigers. It is a club I have admired over the years. It is steeped in history, in success and in winning trophies.

“To train alongside international players like Tom Youngs, Dan Cole, Logovi’i Mulipola and Ellis Genge, I can only get improvement by working with those guys day-in and day-out.”

Kerr will continue his studies for an economics degree at Loughborough University where he has also played National League rugby.

“It was a great experience to be involved with Leicester Tigers in pre-season and this is an exciting opportunity for me,” he said.