Saracens rename Brendan Venter 'wine consultant' to dodge media-duty fines

Saracens have changed Brendan Venter’s job title to “head of rugby culture and wine consultant” in a bid to avoid further fines from PREM Rugby after the South African’s repeated refusal to fulfil media obligations pushed his penalty tally to £8,000.

Venter is still listed as Director of Rugby on Saracens’ official website — a role that carries a mandatory press-access requirement under Premiership regulations. To work around that obligation, the club informed PREM Rugby bosses of the new title, which the club says covers “culture, values and broader development of the playing and coaching environment.” Head coach Alex Shaw has been put forward as the club’s designated media representative, a request Saracens say they submitted to league organisers back in July.

Shaw stood in for Venter at the pre-season content capture day at Allianz Stadium earlier this month and has continued in that role, speaking to reporters after Saracens’ 40-38 victory at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Sunday.

Venter’s reluctance to face the media is widely believed to trace back to his first spell at the club, when a string of fines for publicly criticising officials left him deeply wary of the format. His most memorable appearance in that era was a post-match interview conducted entirely in the deadpan style of fictional England football manager Mike Bassett.

The director of rugby has never publicly explained why he considers himself exempt from press duties, but he has moved to reassure journalists that the snub is not personal. “I am anxious that the rugby journalists do not think I don’t like them,” Venter said, “and so I have asked our CEO Ed Coetzee to issue invitations to all the rugby journalists we are aware of and invite them to a wine-tasting at StoneX Stadium next month. I am happy to respond to any questions that they wish to ask me over a glass of wine.”

Whether PREM Rugby accepts the title change as sufficient grounds to exempt Venter from formal media commitments remains to be seen. The league has not yet commented publicly on the arrangement.