Guinness Premiership

• Brendan Venter receives suspended coaching ban
  Brendan Venter has received a suspended coaching ban from The RFU for his comments made after Saracens had lost against Leicester. Statement from Brendan Venter I apologise unreservedly for making a statement which caused offence to David Rose during my post match comments to the media after our game against Leicester at Vicarage Road on 2 January 2010. I firmly believe that I did not question, or intend to question, David's integrity and any criticism which has been implied was not meant. When I said that I believed he had been influenced at half time I did not intend that to mean that he was improperly influenced. As I said in the interview I have no doubt that all referees operating in the Guinness Premiership, including David, are honest and operate without intentionally favouring one side over another. I hope that we can put this matter behind us and I look forward to welcoming David Rose back to Vicarage Road in the near future. Below is the judgement released by The RFU: DISCIPLINARY HEARING At: The Holiday Inn, Bloomsbury On: Tuesday 19 January 2010 JUDGMENT Coach: Brendan Venter Club: Saracens Match: Saracens v Leicester Tigers Venue: Watford Date of match: 2 January 2010 Panel: HHJ Jeff Blackett (Chairman), Peter Budge, Jeremy Summers Secretary: Bruce Reece-Russel Liam McTiernan Attending: Brendan Venter - Director of Rugby, Saracens. Owen Eastwood - Counsel for Mr Venter Stephanie Seymour - Assistant Counsel Edward Griffiths - CEO Saracens Gerard McEvilly - Counsel for RFU Karen Neale - Legal Officer RFU Ed Morrison - Head of Elite Referees Witnesses: Live evidence was heard from: David Rose - referee J P Doyle - assistant referee Ed Morrison Brendan Venter Decision Brendan Venter was found guilty of an amended charge in relation to his post match comments on 2 January 2010 after Saracens had lost against Leicester Tigers. He was guilty of conduct which was prejudicial to the interests of the Union in that he, whilst taking part in a BBC interview implied criticism of the match referee by stating that he believed the referee had been influenced at half time without any further explanation so that a listener might conclude the influence had been improper. The panel directed that Brendan Venter: bull; make a public apology to David Rose, the match day referee; bull; be suspended from match day coaching for four weeks, that suspension being suspended until 31 December 2010; bull; pay costs of pound;250. Introduction 1. Venter was charged under RFU Rule 5.12 with conduct prejudicial to the interests of the Union in criticising or implying criticism of the referee David Rose by publicly questioning his integrity by stating that he believed he had been influenced at half time. He denied the charge. The RFU Case 2. In a post match interview with the BBC the following conversation took place between the interviewer and Venter: BBC: Is that a blip or is it a more serious concern for you? BV: No, no, no its not a real blip - if you look at why we lost we're not that worried about the way we played, you know there was factors...we conceded ten penalties in the second half, we only conceded three in the first half, they conceded nine in the first half and only four in the second half, so something else went wrong here and we do not know what it is. I did not say anything in the half-time talk... BBC: You believe its an inconsistency of refereeing? BV: I think so, I think, the referee was influenced at Half-time and that's all I can think. BBC: You think he might have been influenced by a Leicester... BV: I don't know. BBC: Part of the Leicester management? BV: Something happened. I have no idea something happened, y'know, so it would be wrong of me to make a statement, all I know is something happened at half-time, the game changed - as a matter of fact, Steve Borthwick got a yellow card with twenty minutes to play and that also killed us. 3. The match referee, David Rose, was not aware of this interview until he read about it on BBC Ceefax later. He said that Venter had not raised any issues about he decision making before, during or after the match and he had not been informed at half time by any other match official that Saracens wished to bring any concerns about his refereeing to his attention. In normal course they may do this by filling in a Guinness Premiership Half Time Referee Communication card and handing it to the fourth official who should bring it to the attention of the referee. These forms are routinely used to ensure no direct contact between coaches and referees at half time, when something injudicious may be said in the heat of the moment, and enable coaches to raise up to three points of concern with the referee. David Rose said he was not aware of any such communication from either side at half time in this match. He said that during half time the match officials agreed that he needed to be sharper at the breakdown and ensure chasing players were not in front of the kicker. In the second half Leicester became more dominant in the scrum and that led to Saracens giving away more penalties. He was not improperly influenced by anybody at half time. David Rose said that he found the comments made by Venter to be extremely offensive as they amounted to an attack on his integrity. 4. J P Doyle said that he was the reserve referee for the match. He said that just before half time he received referee communication cards from both Mark McCall (Saracens Assistant Coach) and Paul Burke of Leicester. Both raised generic points about the tackler not rolling away and players being ahead of the kicker before chasing the ball. He thought there was a third point from Leicester about refereeing both sides but could not remember exactly what it was. He had since destroyed the cards. He put the cards in his pocket but did not raise any points with the referee during half time discussions because the referee had himself identified...
• Chris Ashton signs up for more at Northampton
  Northampton Saints today announced that wing Chris Ashton has confirmed his commitment to the club by signing a new two-year contract. The Saints has been the only club in the 22-year-old winger's burgeoning rugby union career since arriving from Wigan Warriors in the summer of 2007. Ashton, who was yesterday called up into the England Senior Elite Playing Squad for the 2010 Six Nations, made his mark with his first touch of the ball, scoring against London Welsh in the opening game of the 2007/08 season, and he has gone from strength to strength in the two-and-a-half years since. After breaking the record for league tries scored in a single season in National League One, Ashton followed that up by being the 2008/09 European Challenge Cup's leading try scorer. But it is 2009/10 that has very much been his year. He has scored 15 tries in his 16 games, including a hat trick at Newcastle and last-minute match winning efforts against Bath and London Irish. Furthermore he is the leading try scorer in both the Guinness Premiership (9) and Heineken Cup (5), with an LV= Cup score against Saracens making up the rest of his total. So far he has 67 tries from his 62 appearances which, with a conversion kicked on the last day of the 2007/08 season, takes his current points total to 337. This season Ashton has also won two successive Let Yourself Grow Player of the Month awards. Ashton, who earned his club cap when he passed the 50-appearance mark against Munster in October, had no hesitation in signing on again at Franklin's Gardens. The Saints has been a great club to be a part of over the past couple of years, he said. I've settled here and there is a great bunch of lads. It was a hard year last year as I came to terms with the Premiership, but the coaches stuck with me and are helping me get better at rugby union. I'm still learning though and I believe I can improve a lot. It's exciting to be at a club that is going places. We're ambitious to be one of the top clubs in England and in Europe and can only get better over the next few years. Director of rugby Jim Mallinder is very happy that Ashton has made the commitment. Chris has worked very hard on his game, especially over the past 18 months, he said. After a fantastic season in National League One, he had a quiet first year in the Guinness Premiership. But he spent a lot of time learning the game and honing the small details that didn't get found out at the lower level and he is starting to reap the benefits now. He is both a natural finisher and a good reader of where an attack is going, so that if support is needed he is there to provide it. At 22 he is still a young player with plenty to offer and I'm delighted that he has decided to stay and be a part of the Saints.
• Scotland international pair commit to Gloucester Rugby cause
  Hot on the heels of the news that Nick Wood has signed a new deal comes the announcement that Scotland internationals Scott Lawson and Alasdair Strokosch have signed new two year contracts with Gloucester Rugby. The news that the pair have put pen to paper is a further boost ahead of Saturday's Heineken Cup tie at home to Biarritz Olympique (kick off 3pm). Strokosch, the big hitting flanker, joined Gloucester Rugby from Edinburgh in 2007 and his energy, work rate and physicality have added greatly to Gloucester's forward arsenal. Capped 14 times at international level, he has become a fixture in the Gloucester and Scotland sides and was mentioned as a possible contender for the 2009 British and Irish Lions but was sidelined by injury at the tail end of the 2008-9 season which effectively ruled him out of contention. 28 year old Lawson signed from Guinness Premiership rivals Sale Sharks in September 2008 and has been a regular in the first XV season this season, impressing with his set piece, work rate and mobility around the park. A full Scotland international with 16 caps, Lawson started his career with Biggar RFC before joining the Glasgow Warriors. Gloucester Rugby Head Coach Bryan Redpath was a happy man when he told the club website about the signings: This is really good news for Gloucester Rugby. Both Scotty and Strokes have been excellent so far for Gloucester this season and are exactly the type of characters we want in the squad going forward. The pair of them signing shows their commitment to the club and continues our work in retaining our key players for next season and beyond.
• Ben Foden stays with The Northampton Saints
  Northampton Saints today announced that Ben Foden has re-signed for the club. Foden, 24, joined the Saints from Sale in the summer of 2008. After combining the roles of scrum-half and full back he has settled in the number 15 shirt and become one of the highest rated young English players in the Guinness Premiership. As well as helping the Saints win their first piece of major silverware in a decade - the European Challenge Cup - and consolidate their place in the Guinness Premiership, 2008/09 also saw Foden make his England debut against Italy in the Six Nations. With 48 appearances under his belt in just 18 months he is two away from a Saints club cap, and he has scored 11 tries. The consistency of his performance standards is reflected by a number of man of the match awards, including against Treviso in the Heineken Cup and Saracens in the LV= Cup. Foden says that he has enjoyed his time at the club so far and is looking forward to helping bring future success to the Franklin's Gardens outfit. It's been good for me so far, he said. I've enjoyed being in new surroundings, I feel part of the team at full back and we're playing good rugby. I really enjoy working with Dorian, Paul and Jim. He's a former full back but he let me choose my own path. Now I'm playing full back he's now giving me direction and help in how to develop. All of the coaches are very good at managing players and I'm looking forward to where they're taking the team in the future. The highlights for me so far have to be winning the Challenge Cup last year and winning against Munster this year. We need to be playing the best teams in Europe and to compete in those games is a testament to where we have come from and going to. Ben has settled into being one of our most dangerous attacking players, said director of rugby Jim Mallinder. He is the type of player that suits us, with individual ability to create something from nothing but also knowing what role he can play in the team as a whole. As well as being a good finisher he also has awareness of what is going on around him and he has laid on a number of tries for other players as well. I'm delighted that he has signed on again with us.
• Saracens sign up a football team
  Saracens have announced that 11 members of its current squad have committed their futures to the club after signing new contracts. In the backs, Noah Cato, Adam Powell, Neil de Kock, Kameli Ratuvou, Rodd Penney, Chris Wyles and James Short have all signed new deals while forwards Hayden Smith, Mouritz Botha, Justin Melck and Rhys Gill have joined them in extending their stay with the Guinness Premiership club. The 11 players join Alex Goode and Andy Saull - the 21-year-old Saxons duo who agreed new deals before Christmas. Saxons wing Cato, 21, and centre Powell, 24, are both delighted to remain at the club where they graduated from the Saracens Academy. Cato said: It was an easy decision for me and I'm really excited about what is happening at Saracens. We're moving forward every day and not only it is great to be part of that, but to be able to share that with a fantastic group of players who are also my friends is something special. Powell added: I've grown up at Saracens and this is my club so I'm delighted to have signed a new deal. We're really set up for an exciting second half of the season. Fiji international Ratuvou and Springbok scrum half de Kock are both in their fourth season with Saracens while USA international Wyles, who grew up watching Saracens, also extends his stay. Short, 20, is promoted to the first team squad from the Academy while Penney has extended his contract having been a mainstay of the side on the wing and centre since signing in 2006. Prop Gill was a new face to Saracens this season after signing from Cardiff Blues. It was a big move for me to move away from Cardiff, but things have worked out so well for me, I couldn't have hoped for anything more, explained the Wales U21 international. I'm delighted to be staying at what is an exciting time for everyone connected with Saracens. Melck joined Saracens midway through last season and the back row's performances have earned him a new deal. It's also been a whirlwind two years for second row Smith who went through the US Collegiate system on a basketball scholarship before moving to the oval ball game and Saracens. He hasn't looked back having and has just helped the US Eagles achieve qualification for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. There have been a few times when I've had to step back, pinch myself and work out if it was actually happening and this new contract is another one of those times, because I'm delighted. explained the 24-year-old. His second row partner Botha is another to commit his future to Saracens and, now English qualified, the former Bedford Blues lock is hoping to push for further honours. He explained: It was a big step up from the Championship to the Premiership this season but things have gone really well for me and I want to keep pushing that bar even higher with Saracens and maybe even pushing for a place in the Saxons squad.

English Division 1 Rugby

• ENGLISH RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP SET FOR KICK OFF
• JASON SPICE TO CAPTAIN BRISTOL
• DONCASTER AND SHEFFIED JOIN FORCES FOR THE GOOD OF RUGBY
• ESHER LOOKING STRONG WITH KEY SIGNINGS
• ANDREW BORGEN MOVES FROM NATAL TO MOSELEY

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