Brendan Venter accuses Prem Rugby of 'autocracy' over media duties
Brendan Venter criticised Premiership Rugby’s approach to media obligations during a long-awaited public appearance at Saracens’ training base in St Albans on Wednesday, 7 October 2026, saying interviews “steal my joy” and likening aspects of the organisation to an “autocracy”.
It was announced in February that Venter would replace Mark McCall as director of rugby, returning to the role he left 15 years earlier; he has been largely absent from press engagements this season and was fined by Prem Rugby. His job title was amended to head of rugby culture and wine consultant, then altered again, and the missed media duties continued until his session at the club’s St Albans base on a rainy Wednesday.
Venter began the appearance with a subdued demeanour and short answers before expanding on his reluctance to speak publicly. “I have the desire as a human being not to want to talk, because it’s not supposed to be about me, it’s about a team, and I expressed that desire before I came,” he said, and added: “And I’m not the director of rugby of this club. This club does not have a director of rugby. This club has an unbelievably competent head coach in Joe [Shaw]. And I ask really kindly, and eventually I bend over backwards to explain my situation and I’m expected again to come and do an interview.”
He contrasted the club’s internal view with the regulatory approach, saying punitive responses made little sense to him. “If we get obsessed and we get into an argument and we fine a club, that for me does not make sense. It sounds like something we do in an autocratic land, in a country, not in a democracy where people have got the right to say: ‘This is not what I want to do’.”
Venter acknowledged past controversies from his earlier spell at Saracens, referencing disciplinary incidents and a noted interview line — “three cheers for Sireli Bobo” — as part of a history that informed his current reticence. “It stole my joy the previous time,” he said, explaining his aim to keep a low profile so he could focus on coaching: “I wanted to have a low profile. That was my desire. I want to coach or help coach the rugby team. I do not want to be doing interviews.”
On managing his priorities he said: “At my age, we actually look at life and go – I call them joy givers and joy stealers. There are things that give me joy and I do more of them. There are things that steal my joy and I cut them out of my life. And that was one of the things that took my joy.”
Venter described why he returned to a more involved role at Saracens, saying he had remained at the club in a consultancy role while working as a GP in South Africa and was persuaded to take the reins after McCall indicated it was time to step back. “I love coaching rugby, I love coaching, I love working with people,” he said, drawing parallels between medicine and sport: “When I work as a doctor, I have that same privilege. I have people coming to ask me for an opinion and I can treat them in a good way.” He compared rugby to the craft of winemaking: “Rugby is very much like winemaking. When you get arrogant or you get too confident, you will not make a great wine.” He also referenced higher-stakes situations overseas, saying: “You know what? Nobody has died. That is an unbelievable privilege. That privilege normally happens in way more high-stakes environments like Ukraine or the Gaza Strip where people are actually dying when there are challenges.”
On the matter of continued regulatory scrutiny, Venter said he expected further formal action: “I am going to be authentic. And then I am going to have to go to Dublin and sit in some hearing and get a €10,000 fine. So I just want to prevent that.”