Brendan Venter
| Date of birth | 29 December 1969 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Johannesburg, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 86 kg (190 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position(s) | Centre, Wing | ||
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| Senior career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| Provincial / State sides | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| 1994–1999 |  South Africa |
17 | (10) |
Brendan Venter is a South African rugby union coach and former player. He is currently the Technical Director of London Irish and Defence Coach of the Italy national team. Venter played at centre and earned 17 caps for South Africa between 1994 and 1999.
He played as a replacement in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final in which South Africa beat New Zealand to win their first world cup.
Venter was born on 29 December 1969 in Johannesburg. He played rugby for South African schools. He said that even then his studies came first. "I was a good rugby player at school. I saw it as a tool to get a degree—my parents weren't very wealthy. I decided that if I made it as a rugby player it would be a bonus but that even if I didn't it would pay for my studies and I could become a doctor." Venter went to the University of the Orange Free State to study medicine and play rugby. After too much partying in his first year, he just scraped through his exams. "I had a real reality check. I had to decide if I really wanted to be a rugby player or a doctor. So when I returned for my second year there was a complete change in attitude, and rugby took second place. I was determined to be a good doctor and felt that I had to give my studies priority in order to achieve this."
Venter came on as replacement for James Small in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final. After the World Cup took place in 1995, rugby turned professional. However, Venter continued to practice as a doctor: "I was very lucky. Although we were professional, training in my province only started at five in the afternoon. So I had the whole day to work as a GP in my own practice as well as doing afternoons in anaesthetics. The rugby training was really my stress relief."
He was sent off in the 1999 Rugby World Cup for stamping against Uruguay in the pool stages, and was replaced by Pieter Muller for the rest of the tournament.
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