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Dlulane launches scathing attack on former colleague

Cape Town - Former Springbok loose forward Tim Dlulane has launched a scathing attack on one of his former colleagues at the Bulls.

The 36-year-old made headlines this week when he hit out at his former union, the Bulls, who recently relieved him of his duties as team manager.

Dlulane claimed that the Bulls’ retrenchment process was a "smokescreen" and not transparent.

He also questioned the Bulls’ commitment to transformation as four of the five men who lost their jobs are black.

Sport24 contacted Dlulane for an exclusive interview during which he said he stood by his initial viewpoint.

He also said he believed the Bulls’ high performance manager, Xander Janse van Rensburg, was behind his dismissal.

“I think the fact that I didn’t get along with high performance manager Xander Janse van Rensburg had a role to play in my axing. I’m still a Blue Bull and can’t be against the brand, but Barend (van Graan, Bulls CEO) and Xander are the two individuals who wanted to get rid of me. They think they own the company, but they are only employees and their contracts will be over at some stage,” Dlulane said.

Dlulane said Janse van Rensburg played “a major role in terms of what went wrong at the Bulls over the last few seasons” and that he “created a toxic environment”.

“I believe he was the person that put my name forward for retrenchment. Barend has had to back him because he is the head of the department. Heyneke Meyer sold Xander to Barend as the messiah of recruitment. Heyneke - the former Bulls coach and director of rugby - took a liking to Xander and introduced him to Barend after the former told him that he had been following his career and wanted to learn from him.”

Dlulane feels Janse van Rensburg is not competent in his role.

“Xander started off scouting, recruiting and contracting junior players for the Bulls and was later promoted at the union. His title from 2012 has been high performance manager, but ever since his appointment he has acted as if he owns the Blue Bulls Company. Barend has stood by Xander when everyone else has been against him. Barend has to stand behind Xander because they are there together, but I believe a time will come when they no longer have the power. I’m not the only one who has raised concerns about Xander’s suitability. I don’t feel he is qualified for what he is doing at the Bulls. Almost everyone at the Bulls question Xander and you have to ask why Barend cannot see that he is being fooled by him.”

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