LONDON — Former England scrum-half Danny Care says "some of the powers that be" at Saracens have "let the players down" after a turbulent start to the season that saw an opening 40-38 win at Leicester followed by a 21-17 home defeat by Sale, despite having numerical superiority for 27 minutes of the first half.
The build-up to the home loss to Sale was dominated by headlines around returning head of culture and technical director Brendan Venter, 56, who reportedly refused to perform a series of media obligations and put Saracens at risk of fines amid conjecture his job title had been changed to 'head of rugby culture and wine consultant'. New chief executive Ed Coetzee confirmed on Friday that the role, which differs from the director of rugby title Venter was said to have when appointed to succeed Mark McCall, includes "significant media duties", and Venter duly spoke to TNT Sports before the Sale match.
Care told the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast: "They're putting the players under more pressure with off-field antics" and "The lads don't want a part of any of that, they just want to play." He added: "There was all this chat of Sarries pushing for top four again, and having this amazing team and culture again. I just think some of the powers that be at the top have let the players down."
Venter said he refused the director of rugby title because he had "absolutely nothing" to do with other departments of the club, such as the academy and women's section, and insisted the wine consultant reference was not a joke aimed at the media. "Our whole theme this year was all about wine," he said. "Everything in our theme was about a blend and getting the blend right." Care, however, said the distraction showed on the pitch: "[The performance against Sale] looked flat. It looked quiet. I don't blame the players. I blame the management for that," adding Saracens can only afford such antics "when you are so much better at rugby than everyone else and at the moment, they're not."