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'Alex knows how South Africans think, what makes them tick... it is a brilliant move from Sale'
Former Saracens boss Brendan Venter believes Alex Sanderson, who is set to be named Sale Sharks’ new director of rugby, is a “brilliant” choice and uniquely equipped to get the best out of the club’s 11 strong contingent of South African players.
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It is understood an announcement about Sanderson’s appointment – as revealed by RugbyPass – is imminent with the former England flanker, who was forced to stop playing by a back injury, re-joining his former club having been viewed as a natural successor to Steve Diamond, who quit the role last month for family reasons.
Sanderson, currently Saracens forwards coach, was one year into his coaching role at Saracens when Venter arrived as director of rugby in 2009 and put in place the foundations that turned the North London club into the most powerful outfit in European club rugby. Besides producing a host of international players, Saracens have also developed a group of high profile coaches in top positions that now includes Sanderson.
Venter is delighted to see Sanderson move into a high-profile role and told RugbyPass: “If you want to know how to act with dignity as a human being then it is the way Alex carries himself at Saracens. When he leaves Saracens it will be with the blessing of every person there because they want the very best for him going forward. What kind of person can say that they are leaving an organisation and everyone is supporting him because he is going to realise the potential we all know he has.
“He treats people well and will be very successful at Sale and will get on well with their South African players. They have such a big contingent and Sale have recruited a very good person in Alex as he knows how South Africans think. We have worked together for a long time, including after I left and we have stayed friends. Alex knows how South Africans think, how they function and what makes them tick and that is why it is a brilliant move from Sale’s point of view.”
Venter, who is a GP in the Western Cape helping with South Africa’s fight against COVID-19, believes the atmosphere created at Saracens has been crucial in enabling so many players to move into key coaching roles in the sport.
He added: “When I look at it, the players who have gone onto coach realised what treating people in a certain way can achieve. When John Smit (former South African World Cup-winning captain) left Saracens he said what fascinated him what the environment at the club which is more than one person.
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“It enables coaches to get the best out of people and this is not only in rugby. I get a lot of pleasure hearing about the success of former Saracens players in roles in the City of London because of the things they learned at Saracens. I get as much pleasure as hearing that as when Guzzy (Paul Gustard) got the Harlequins job or Steve (Borthwick) the job at Leicester.
“It is about being part of something and understanding there is a different way of doing things. It means all those Thursday afternoon personal development sessions that guys did after training when they were tired were worthwhile and good people make good rugby players.”
The Saracens coaching factor has produced:
Alex Sanderson – set to become Sale director of rugby
Andy Farrell – former England coach and Ireland head coach
Steve Borthwick – former England forwards and Leicester head coach
ADVERTISEMENTPaul Gustard – former England defence coach and Harlequins head of rugby
Kelly Brown – Glasgow Warriors assistant coach
Petrus du Plessis – Australia scrum coach
Mouritz Botha – former Germany assistant coach now at Ampthill
Glen Jackson – former test referee and Fiji assistant coach
Simon Raiwalui- former Wallabies assistant coach now Fiji high performance manager
Comments on RugbyPass
Well that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
2 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
2 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
2 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
19 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
19 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
4 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
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