At the full-time whistle, Brendan Venter let out a roar of delight. Until then the South African had been on his best behaviour, but after beginning his return to the Saracens hotseat with a nail-biting victory against Leicester, Venter could no longer hold it in.
It no doubt felt all the sweeter at Welford Road, having 16 years ago been slapped with a lengthy ban for making inappropriate and provocative gestures at the Tigers faithful. A celebratory swagger had been a long time coming and who could deny the director of rugby after Saracens overcame Nick Isiekwe’s 20-minute red card to edge this 12-try thriller.
