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Bulls high-performance manager jailed in South Africa

Xander Janse van Rensburg /Getty Images

One of the darkest periods in the Bulls’ storied history came to a head, on Friday. It was confirmed that Xander Janse van Rensburg, the former High-Performance Manager of the Bulls, has been found guilty and sentenced to three years in jail.

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This follows after the union had brought criminal charges against him for fraud and theft. The case, which dragged out for the last two years, came to a head in the Pretoria commercial crimes court on Friday – when magistrate Martin van Wyk handed down the sentence.

In a plea deal, Janse van Rensburg pleaded guilty to 13 counts of fraud.

Apart from the three-year prison sentence, effective immediately, there is also an additional five-year sentence – which was suspended for five years.

Janse van Rensburg was also ordered to repay more than ZAR500 000 to the Blue Bulls Company – with ZAR200 000 due to be paid by December 14.

The Blue Bulls Company launched a forensic investigation into Van Rensburg’s activities and then filed the criminal charges.

According to South African media reports Janse van Rensburg demanded – and reportedly receiving – a ZAR60 000 payment from a current BBC employee to be reappointed in his position.

There was also a ZARR1-million tender awarded to a guesthouse that belongs to one of his family members, kickback payments made to players and their agents and paying a schoolboy ZAR1-million to join the union.

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It is also reported that he paid for beverages at his wedding and other personal functions with money from the union’s bank accounts without authorisation.

There were also purchases of equipment – like camera lenses, drones and a stack of clothing from a Japanese company – with BBC money, but none of it was ever in the union’s possession.

– Rugby 365

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Jonathan Foster 2 hours ago
Scott Lawrence: 'I think the forward pass for the Fiji try was a pivotal moment in the game'

In this match, Fiji’s performance was exceptional, and the statistics reflect that they were the superior team on the day.


For instance:


Possession: Fiji controlled 59% of the possession during the match, while the USA only had 41% (RugbyPass, 2024). This allowed Fiji to apply constant pressure on USA’s defense and create more opportunities for scoring.


Territory: Fiji spent 64% of the match in USA’s half, keeping the Americans under sustained pressure (World Rugby, 2024).


Offensive Play: Fiji made 7 line breaks, compared to USA’s 3. In addition, Fiji completed 12 offloads while USA only managed 5, highlighting Fiji's superior attacking ability and ball handling (World Rugby, 2024).


Scrums and Rucks: Fiji was dominant in the scrums, winning 100% of their own scrums (8 out of 8), whereas USA only won 71% of theirs (5 out of 7).


Additionally, Fiji won 6 turnovers compared to USA’s 2 (ESPN, 2024). This scrummaging and breakdown superiority was a critical factor in controlling the game.


Additionally, while forward passes can be contentious, it’s important to note that USA was also guilty of making 3 forward passes during the match, which resulted in lost opportunities and turnovers (RugbyPass, 2024).


These key errors disrupted momentum and contributed to their inability to maintain a sustained attack.


References

ESPN. (2024). Fiji vs USA match report. Retrieved from https://www.espn.com/rugby/match


RugbyPass. (2024). Scott Lawrence on the Fiji match and forward pass controversy. Retrieved from https://www.rugbypass.com/news


World Rugby. (2024). Fiji triumphs over USA in a thrilling encounter. Retrieved from https://www.world.rugby.com

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JW 4 hours ago
‘Did Conrad really score that many’: Rieko Ioane dismisses All Blacks drought

Indeed, but I also appreciate how Razor now has him covering the backfield more. Are they conflicting uses? Who was it that covered the Arg game, John(?), no it was a YTer (squidge?) suggested Jordies role was to chase and support the wing for a tap back.


That turnover try was actually a great example of were Jordies boot could have been used for territory instead of attacking (contestable). Hansen talking again about 'learnings' about what part of the field they want to play in. I would have thought that would be a basic principle about how the coaches want to play and it would be a bit late now to be learning that.


Nevrtheless we wait and see. One Barretts carrying though I'd suggest he only has a mandate to bring some physicality, not in how he does it. You can see how out of kilter he gets when he tries to do anything other than a simple cart up and pop. Just look at least week when he had two players on the outside to hit in multiple ways and he just indecisively takes the tackle before giving a poor overhead pop. That he still got the pass away hints at what he is "capable of" but as you saw, with free license, its just far off the mark. I've decided Rieko is my 12 from now on. I'd like Jordie to remain primarly at 12 at the Hurricans, as I feel that's were his best alround game can be kept in good shape, and you never know perhaps he will fill into the position after a while, but I'd like to try other centers essentially. But yes, if Razor/Hansen can get both him and Dmac humming in partnership they could also essentially cover many of the fb roles which aren't Jordans strength. Also obv happy to see Rieko tried on the wing just now I think that's more likely to fail than a Rieko/Proctor midfield.

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