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Mark McCall to Step Down at Season’s End as Saracens Name Brendan Venter Next Director of Rugby

The club calls the move a managed succession to safeguard continuity through McCall’s advisory duties plus a board seat.

Rugby Union - Premiership Play-Off Final - Saracens v Sale Sharks - Twickenham Stadium, London, Britain - May 27, 2023 Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall. Action Images/Andrew Boyers
Image
Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Mark McCall has been director of rugby at Saracens since 2011

Overview

  • McCall will leave the director of rugby role after this season but remain at Saracens as a technical adviser and join the board.
  • Brendan Venter, a former Saracens director of rugby and long-time technical adviser, will assume the top job from the start of the 2026/27 season.
  • Saracens framed the restructure as providing stability, clarity and continuity, with both McCall and Venter emphasizing their long association.
  • McCall’s 15-year tenure delivered six Premiership titles and three European Champions Cups, alongside the club’s relegation over salary-cap breaches and swift return.
  • Players and staff were informed on Friday morning, and the club sits sixth in the Premiership with Newcastle up next and a Champions Cup last-16 trip to Bath in April.