Brendan vents!

"I don't feel that the people sitting behind me at Leicester were the victims, I felt that they intruded into my life. I did not go there to pick a fight with Leicester and the swore at me, I did not swear at them."
Brendan Venter Quotes of the week

Saracens will battle it out without the presence of Venter, who remains banned despite having a 14-week suspension reduced to 10 on appeal on Wednesday night.

The South African was punished last week for making provocative and inappropriate gestures and comments to Leicester supporters during a Premiership game at Welford Road on May 8.

Terms of his initial ban were upheld in that he has no direct contact with his team or match officials on match-days, and that he is prevented from attending Twickenham on Saturday.

I will be unbelievably disappointed, I feel that I am the victim here," Venter told the Rugby Club.

"I don't feel that the people sitting behind me at Leicester were the victims, I felt that they intruded into my life. I did not go there to pick a fight with Leicester and the swore at me, I did not swear at them. As for standing up, well will I stand up again if I sit in that same seat? There is no way I am not going to watch my team in the left corner.

"The biggest dilemma is that people say I do not understand the seriousness of what I have done - and it is a dilemma because I don't," added Venter.

"I did not swear at anybody, I did not make any obscene gestures, I did not fight with anybody - how serious is it? I don't understand it.

What almost overshadowed the ban was the 'Biscuitgate' where the RFU accused Venter of eating a biscuit that had been supplied by them in a disdainful fashion as he awaited his sentence.

"It was basically an accident - I had just taken my first bite when I got called back in," explained Venter.

"I didn't know what to do with the biscuit - I couldn't just throw it on the carpet, so I took it in with me. It happened in seconds and they asked me if I was finished, I said 'almost' and took my last bite. I really did not know that it was a problem.

"It was oatmeal biscuit - choc chip is my favourite but only the oatmeal was available."

Despite the controversial headlines, Venter is not too bothered what the outside world think of him as long as those close to him know the truth.

"It is important for the people who know me to respect me. If one of the players thought that I was no honest, or I was arrogant or rude then that would be an issue with me. But people from the outside don't know me, they don't know how I treat my wife and my children. They do not know how I treat the players. The players know that I really care for them and I care for their families. Being a doctor helps massively and it is an awesome job. It has got to the stage where the guys bring their children to my house and I treat them there - I am registered in the UK.

"I dish out all the medicine to the staff and I stitch the guys up after training too - so I am having a good time - there is a genuine feeling that we like each other and that we are becoming a family."