Saracens boss Venter skips more media duties

Saracens manager Joe Shaw declined to specify whether director of rugby Brendan Venter will address the media again, even as the club faces fines for his absence. Venter was absent from Wednesday’s pre‑match press briefing ahead of the Sale fixture, having also missed Prem Rugby’s pre‑season media day and any media obligations surrounding the opening‑weekend victory at Leicester. The Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday that Venter had "resigned" as director of rugby and taken up a new role described as "head of rugby civilisation and wine consultant"; Saracens and Prem Rugby have not confirmed this claim. When asked about Venter’s future media duties, Shaw replied: "I'm conscionable going to speech astir the rugby. " "I'll permission the nine to speech astir wherever we basal connected each those benignant of things." BBC Sport has approached Saracens for comment. It is understood the club has already been fined £5,000 after Venter failed to attend the Prem’s pre‑season media day. Observers note that altering Venter’s job title would not exempt him from his contractual responsibilities. Saracens announced in January that Venter would return as director of rugby and have yet to publicly confirm any change to his day‑to‑day duties. He succeeded Mark McCall, who stepped down at the end of the previous season after 15 years in the position.