Hougaard using Boks axe to spark Warriors survival bid
WORCESTER star Francois Hougaard admits he will consider his Test future after being made a scapegoat by South Africa following September’s 57-0 thrashing by New Zealand.
Scrum-half Hougaard was the only member of the squad to be axed following that record Springboks defeat in Albany. He has since returned to Warriors and helped kick-start their Premiership revival in last week’s win over Northampton. Hougaard, 29, told The
Rugby Paper: “I’ve always used negative situations and turned them into positives, which is what I’m doing now.
“I love being at Worcester and want to try and achieve some success here and build something special. It is what it is and whether they (South Africa) used me to take the fall doesn’t matter because I’ve come back to Worcester with a positive mind.
“I’ve got no bad feelings towards anyone from South Africa; it was out of my hands the way I was taken out of the group.
“All the best to South Africa and whatever lies ahead, but at some point in your career you’re going to have to make a decision over something like that. I don’t think I’m in a posidecisions tion to do that right now, though, I just want to play great rugby here first.”
Hougaard’s chances of adding to his 46 caps may change quickly if, as widely being predicted, under-fire Springboks head coach Allister Coetzee is sacked after their European tour.
However, Hougaard said: “For any player that’s in a difficult situation you have to make and when that time comes I’ll do that. The important thing now is that I really love this club; it’s a happy place for me and my focus is on playing my part here.”
With Alan Solomons now assisting soon-todepart rugby director Gary Gold, Hougaard is convinced Worcester’s squad can put aside off-field turmoil to banish relegation talk.
He added: “Clubs go through transition – it happens everywhere now. The main thing for us players is to focus on playing because the rest is out of our hands.
“I played for Alan at the Southern Kings and he’s a great guy and a good coach who definitely knows what he wants from his players. He’s made a positive impact in his short time at the club and you can see that in the way the guys have played in recent weeks.
“We’re scoring a lot of tries, playing with confidence and we believe in each other. Having quality players like Will Spencer, Ryan Mills and Bryce Heem fit and back in the side has helped and we’re definitely looking up the league now rather than down it.
“In this industry confidence is 90 per cent of being successful and we’ve got lots of it. Everything’s falling into place and we’ve worked really hard to get there.”