by Thomas Rooney | Former Saracens director of rugby Brendan Venter has been appointed assistant coach of the under-20 South Africa side, putting an end to rumours he could be in line for a job with the English national side.
Those who looked at rugby world cup betting note how the former Springbok enjoyed great success while in charge of Saracens, and guided them to the Aviva Premiership title last season before stepping down from the role earlier this year.
Venter was linked with the England head coach job after former World Cup winning captain Martin Johnson stepped down from the role following his side’s disastrous World Cup campaign in New Zealand, but quickly ruled himself out of the running before taking up a role with the “Baby Boksâ€.
Venter, who won 17 caps for his country between 1994 and 1999, will assist head coach Dawie Theron alongside fellow assistant coach Nazeem Adams, with Theron describing the capture of Venter as “fantastic†for the under-20 side.
“Both Brendan and Nazeem have extensive coaching experience at various levels of the game and it’s fantastic to have them in our structures,” said Theron.
“Brendan is a household name in South African rugby and he proved his coaching credentials when he turned Saracens around in the last few seasons, while Nazeem has a proven track record at Western Province, where he’s done exceptionally well with their age-group teams and higher up.
“They bring with them a wealth of experience and I’m looking forward to seeing their inputs on the field as we build towards next year’s Junior World Championships here in South Africa.” He added.
While those studying bet bonuses note how Venter is out of the running for the England job one South African continues to be linked with the post, former World Cup-winning coach Jake White.
The RFU are poised to approach potential candidates over the England head coach role with White said to be at the top of their list, but his current club, the Brumbies say their head coach is not England-bound.
Brumbies chief executive Andrew Fagan explained: “Whenever anyone asks him if he’s interested in international jobs, he’ll forever say ‘yes’.
“But he’s not talking about now. He called me into his office and said ‘I want to clarify – I’m 100% committed’.”
“I wasn’t concerned by the articles. I see it more that we’ve got a World Cup-winning coach so with his credentials, whenever there’s a vacant job, his name will be linked to it.” He added.