'One of the best we've ever seen' - Austin Healey and Ben Kay react to Mark McCall stepping down from PREM Rugby side Saracens
Published 23/01/2026 at 20:52 GMT
Mark McCall confirmed he will step down as Saracens director of rugby at the end of the season after 15 years and a trophy-laden career at the club, having won six Premiership titles and claimed three European crowns. TNT Sports rugby pundits Austin Healey and Ben Kay reacted to the Irishman's decision and gave supporters a brief glimpse into what life under Brendan Venter might be like.
'He's one of the best we've ever seen' - Healey and Kay laud Saracens figurehead McCall
Video credit: TNT Sports
Mark McCall shocked the rugby world when he announced that he would step down from his director of rugby role at Saracens at the end of the season.
Brendan Venter, who was responsible for recruiting the Irishman as head coach in 2009, will reprise the role he previously held more than 15 years ago at the PREM club.
McCall is set to join the board of directors and continue at the club in the technical adviser position, which Venter had held.
TNT Sports rugby pundits Ben Kay and Austin Healey gave their reaction, with the latter calling McCall "one of the best coaches we've ever seen in this competition".
Speaking before Gloucester and Bath played on Friday night, Healey said: "Well, I think first and foremost, well done to McCall.
"I think he's one of the best coaches we've ever seen in this competition. He had a fantastic career. But it has to have been driven by him. That's not something a club would change, I don't think."
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2026/01/23/image-0c5fd8ed-ef78-46af-bf8c-8ed80c092365-85-2560-1440.jpeg)
Healey and Kay pick their England side to take on Wales in Six Nations opener
Video credit: TNT Sports
McCall originally took over the role midway through the 2010/11 season and led the side to its first league title as they triumphed over Leicester Tigers in the final at Twickenham.
It kick-started a trophy-laden career at Saracens, which included a further five league titles and three European Cups.
"He's developed a good coaching staff around him over the years," Healey continued. "Developed a style of rugby that others have copied over the years.
"A lot of people look around and think 'Brendan Venter? That's a bit of a strange one.' But he knows that club well so I'm sure there's been long conversations and a very difficult choice.
"Probably a very difficult decision, mainly for Mark. I think he just needs some time away from the game with his family."
Venter, a former South Africa centre and member of the 1995 World Cup winning squad, originally held the position of director of rugby and initially recruited McCall, who was his former centre partner at London Irish.
With Venter as director of rugby and McCall as head coach, they began to build one of the most dominant club sides rugby union has seen and heralded the club's most successful period.
"The way it transpired with him taking over from Brendan Venter, who was obviously his centre partner at London Irish," Kay said. "So they knew each other very well, trusted each other very well.
"Brendan Venter is very much a disruptor. He's an agitator isn't he? By the time Brendan Venter took them to that place, Mark McCall was the perfect person to come in, quiet and understated.
"[He's] built an amazing fortress around Saracens, they had so much success with him. That's just started to tail off slightly.
"It must be so hard to be at the top for 15 years trying to get the same messages over to players and I just wonder if he's decided if it's time to go look at some other aspects of the club."
Watch and stream the Gallagher PREM and Premiership Women's Rugby on TNT Sports and discovery+
Related Topics
Advertisement
Advertisement