Brendan Venter calls Premiership media demands 'autocratic'
SPOTLIGHT: Brendan Venter has never been one to shy away from controversy and his return to Saracens has already reignited his long-running battle with the media.
The former Springbok World Cup winner has a colourful history when it comes to press obligations, including disciplinary trouble during his first spell in charge of Saracens, the infamous “biscuit-gate” episode and his bizarre “three cheers for Sireli Bobo” interview.
So perhaps it was no surprise that Venter’s long-awaited appearance at a Saracens press conference began with clipped, one-word answers before he finally opened up about why he has deliberately kept a low profile since returning to north London.
Venter was initially appointed director of rugby in February as the successor to Mark McCall, but his role has since been changed to head of culture and technical director. His reluctance to face the media has already cost Saracens a £5,000 Premiership Rugby fine after he missed a pre-season media event.
Asked about the situation, Venter made his feelings abundantly clear.
“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,” he said.
He insisted that head coach Joe Shaw should be the club’s public face rather than himself.
“Joe’s input is way more valuable than my input,” Venter said.
“And 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’s resistance to media duties is hardly new.
His previous 16-month spell at Saracens was littered with controversy, including punishment for comments about referees and an incident involving spectators. He also famously turned a post-match interview into a bizarre performance in which he simply agreed with every question put to him.
That history helps explain why Venter has been determined to avoid the spotlight this time around.
“It stole my joy the previous time,” he said. “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.”
Venter was at pains to stress that his reluctance was not born out of arrogance.
“It’s not because I think I’m better than anybody else,” he said. “To be put over as an arrogant person who thinks he’s better than doing interviews… it’s not at all that.”
Despite his frustrations with the media demands of the job, Venter said his love of coaching was ultimately what persuaded him to return.
“I love coaching rugby. I love working with players,” he said.
“It is a privilege we get as human beings to be in a position where we can influence things, both good and bad. People in life rarely get that privilege.”
That passion was also evident in a pre-season message to his Saracens squad, where he made his ambitions clear.
“I promise you I don’t want to be competitive in this league. I want to dominate,” Venter said.
“This is not a team with a ceiling, this is something special, I have not come all this way to be average.”
For a man who has spent much of his career refusing to conform to expectations, it appears Venter’s latest Saracens chapter is unlikely to be any different.
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