
The Sun newspaper reports that the rugby team, Saracens, have changed Brendan Venter’s official job title from “Head of Rugby Culture” to “Wine Consultant”, apparently as a way of avoiding Premiership Rugby’s compulsory media duties for senior coaching figures. Under league rules, the relevant rugby lead is expected to attend weekly press conferences and handle pre- and post-match media commitments.
Venter had already missed an official pre-season media day, costing Saracens a £5,000 fine, and the club was also penalised after he failed to fulfil media duties around their opening league win over Leicester. Saracens are reportedly disputing the fines and have asked for head coach Joe Shaw to handle the required press appearances instead.
Despite the unusual title change, Venter appears to remain heavily involved in the rugby operation and is reported to have planned team selections for the coming weeks. There is also some history behind the move. During his previous spell at Saracens from 2009 to 2011, Venter repeatedly clashed with the media and received several fines, including after a deliberately unhelpful Sky Sports interview in 2010.











