Brendan Venter will stand down as the director of rugby at Saracens in January and return to South Africa after less than two seasons in charge. He will return to the club at intervals in the capacity of technical director but his day-to-day involvement will cease.
Venter is a general practitioner in South Africa and has spoken in the past about his preference for medicine over rugby. He gave up his media duties last month after being fined by both Twickenham and the Heineken Cup organisers for speaking his mind after matches and his loss will be a significant blow for Saracens. Venter guided them to the Premiership final last season and has turned a side regarded as serial under-performers into a consistent force. They are again in line for a top-four finish but Venter's role now will be mainly advisory with Mark McCall moving from head coach to director of rugby from 9 January. Andy Farrell will become head coach.
"Brendan and his family are returning to South Africa in January for family reasons and, as a club very much based on family values, we respect their decision and wish them well," said the Saracens chairman, Nigel Wray. "Mark and Andy will take over the day-to-day running of the team, but Brendan will remain an integral part of the club, as technical director, making frequent visits to north London.
"The direction, stability and continuity of the club are unaffected, and we will continue our collective quest to be successful on and off the field, striving to win championships in England and Europe, working hard for our players and staff, their families, our supporters and the broader community.
"We would like to thank Brendan for his outstanding contribution through the past two seasons, establishing a culture of honesty, discipline and work ethic that is now enshrined within the DNA of our club, and we look forward to his continuing involvement in the months and years to come."
Venter was not prepared to elaborate on the reasons for his departure halfway through the campaign, declining to say whether the disciplinary problems his straight-talking had caused was a factor. "I will stick to the statement put out by the club," he said. "I am very privileged to be part of this club. It is in great shape and in a very healthy position. I am not sure how often I will be back, but I will certainly be using modern technology, in regular contact through the internet, and I will be in constant touch.
"I will be resuming my medical practice in South Africa but I will be there for Saracens whenever they need me. I will be Mark's right-hand man in the same way that he has been mine but other than that I have no comment to make."
