Venter to take charge of Saracens as Jones leaves club

Brendan Venter, the former London Irish player-coach, is to replace Eddie Jones as Saracens director of rugby this summer.

The Sarries players will be officially informed of the change at a meeting with Jones on Monday, after the former Australia coach returns from a business trip to Japan.

South African Venter is coach of the Stormers Super 14 team and cannot move to north London until that contract expires in the summer.

The former centre won 17 caps for the Springboks, having represented them between 1994 and 1999. He was red-carded in the 1999 World Cup for stamping against Uruguay in the group stages.

As player-coach, Venter led the Exiles to a 38-7 English Cup final victory over Premiership rivals Northampton in 2002.

Jones first became involved with Saracens as a consultant for three months in 2006 and returned to the club in a similar role for the 2007/2008 season.

That campaign ended with director of rugby Alan Gaffney moving to Irish club Leinster, leading to Jones being appointed on a threeyear contract.

However, the 48-year-old has now decided to end his spell in charge at Vicarage Road after just one year and he is expected to move to Japan, where he has strong family ties.

It is the latest in a series of upheavals at Sarries, who recently replaced chief executive Mark Sinderberry with Edward Griffiths, a South African who has close ties with SAIL, the investment company that puts £6million into the Premiership club.

The South African company has a major say in all aspects of Sarries, although Nigel Wray, whose millions kept the club afloat for more than a decade, still possesses a significant shareholding.

SAIL also has major stakes in two Super 14 franchises - the Bulls, in Pretoria, and the Cape Town-based Stormers, where Venter is coaching.

It looks certain that Sarries will become increasingly tied up with South African rugby, leading to potential swapping of players between the three teams, as well as coaches.

Sarries have England captain Steve Borthwick in their star-studded squad, which also features All Black Chris Jack and Great Britain's former rugby league captain, Andy Farrell.