Saracens recently launched a charm offensive at their home ground, bringing out key leadership figures—including the chairman, chief executive, owner, and senior players Owen Farrell, Ben Earl, and George Martin—alongside Brendan Venter for an evening that blended rugby culture with wine tasting. Youth hostelling with Chris Eubank. However, things move fast in the Saracens world. A poisoned chalice or a peace offering. Accordingly, Saracens threw open the doors and wheeled out the big guns. It soon became clear this was a charm offensive. “The lesson was brilliant for [the players] that day.
The club had been navigating a turbulent spell, having issued a firm public defense following recent setbacks. These included a fine after Premiership Rugby officials deemed Venter was evading media commitments, alongside mixed on-field performances capped by a worrying display against Sale in front of a sparse crowd, and the sacking of 21-year-old Totoa Auvaa after his latest legal trouble. Given recent events, but 12 months ago it would not have been so easy, no prizes for guessing which. You could not help but smile, when the invitation arrived. But, still, there was something delicious about it. Invitation was accepted, curiosity took hold. Venter is deeply passionate about wine and that he loves to talk about it. “You get to explore wine,” he says. “It’s like rugby, you’re never going to beat rugby, there are always better ideas and different permutations. I know I’ll never master either of them. Or it’s this fancy label, or it’s this old, or it comes from this country, you will think it is a good wine, when I tell you this wine costs £100.
Venter, whose official title temporarily shifted from director of rugby to head of rugby culture and wine consultant, explained three main reasons for avoiding standard press interactions. Beyond wanting to avoid banal post-match questions like “What are your thoughts on that match?”, he prefers to give exposure to coaches like Joe Shaw and avoids putting himself in situations that might lead to disciplinary action. Though acknowledging that the media dispute played out regrettably, Venter embraced the hosting role in the Saracens dressing room with dozens of red wines to guide guests through notes and tones. One, because he does not like the banality of it all. “What are your thoughts on that match?” is a question for which life is too short. Saracens have been through the mill of late and felt the need to issue a fierce statement this week defending themselves.
Drawing parallels between his two passions, Venter noted that neither wine nor rugby can ever be truly mastered without bringing humility. During pre-season, he conducted a blind tasting session with the Saracens squad right before they took to the training pitch, aiming to eliminate human bias. He pointed out how easily people are influenced by price tags, fancy labels, age, or origin, stressing that players should similarly be evaluated solely on what they bring to the table rather than their age or earnings, with every participant earning a fair chance at team selection. The other took place on a chilly Tuesday night in north London this week, two of those are among the suggestions made by a flailing Alan Partridge in the “smell my cheese” sketch.
Using wine analogies to explain rugby tactical roles, Venter described Cabernet as the defensive foundation, Merlot as the softer attacking element, Cabernet Franc as kicking, and Petit Verdot with Malbec as the subtle elements tying team play together. He likened South African wines to heavy props, Italian wines to flamboyant wingers, French wines to stylish centres, Australian wines to meticulous scrum-halves and fly-halves, New Zealand wines to tough openside flankers, and Georgian wines to relentless hookers. He says, and as a result, represents the defence, cabernet is the base of most Bordeaux. Merlot, by virtue of being softer, is the attack.
Despite recent inconsistent results, Venter retains immense credit at Saracens due to his previous spell at the club, where he built the foundation for key England figures such as Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, Jamie George, Mako Vunipola, and Billy Vunipola. His return focuses on long-term sustainability rather than immediate fixes. Venter emphasized that after years of success driven by established superstars who are now nearing the end of their careers, the club must focus on developing a new generation over time to compete for the Premiership again. “In rugby we see today so much, we don’t see the bigger picture,” he says. “The bigger picture is developing people over a longer period to try and win a Premiership. Put simply, he has returned to do so again.
Farrell, who has begun stepping into coaching alongside his playing duties, expressed confidence in Venter’s methods. Reflecting on the pre-season blind tasting session that preceded a training run, Farrell noted that while the approach differs from what the squad was used to, the squad believes it will yield long-term benefits by keeping players focused on the present rather than past achievements.
