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Xander Janse van Rensburg (Gallo Images)
- Former Bulls high-performance manager Xander Janse van Rensburg has been sentenced to three years in prison.
- The 35-year-old man was convicted of 13 counts of fraud and theft.
- He also has to pay R509,000 to the union as part of his judgment, of which R200,000 has already been reimbursed.
The new era of the Bulls under CEO Edgar Rathbone and the director of rugby has cleared another hurdle from the past with the confirmation that the former high-performance manager, Xander Janse van Rensburg, will be imprisoned.
Magistrate Martin van Wyk handed the 35-year-old man a three-year sentence on Friday on 13 counts of fraud and theft in Pretoria’s commercial crimes court.
An additional five-year sentence, as well as a two-year sanction based on a fourteenth count, have been suspended for five and two years respectively.
Janse van Rensburg was also ordered to repay 509,000 rand, of which a first installment of 200,000 rand had to be paid by 14 December.
That payment was received on Friday.
Janse van Rensburg abruptly resigned from his position in February last year and Alfons Meyer, the former Bulls chief executive, confirmed in April that the board resolved to press criminal charges after a preliminary investigation.
The case proceeded fairly quickly as Janse van Rensburg’s legal team reached a plea deal with the state, and he pleaded guilty to all charges.
In a letter from the Blue Bulls Company (BBCo) that was part of the State Heads of Arguments, the union’s business arm stated that Janse van Rensburg had inflicted significant financial and reputational damage to the franchise by “manipulating and intimidating the employed for their gain. “
According to the charge sheet, Janse van Rensburg extorted a collective amount of R88 900 from Nollis Marais, who was the Bulls’ head coach between late 2015 and mid-2017.
It is alleged that Marais, currently employed as White’s breakdown coach, had to pay that amount to secure his re-election.
Former strikers coach Anton Leonard also paid R30,000 to Janse van Rensburg’s account.
Janse van Rensburg was appointed to negotiate new contracts on behalf of BBCo, but received the aforementioned amounts as “rewards” without any knowledge of the board or former CEO Barend van Graan.
– Compiled by Heinz Schenk
