Francois Hougaard

Francois Hougaard

Date of birth	(1988-04-06) 6 April 1988
Place of birth	Paarl, South Africa
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	94 kg (14 st 11 lb)
School	Paul Roos Gymnasium, Stellenbosch
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrum-half / Winger Current team Worcester Warriors Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2007 Template:Rut Western Province 3 (0) 2008–15 Template:Rut Bulls 88 (130) 2008–15 Template:Rut Blue Bulls 48 (80) 2016– Worcester Warriors 4 (5) Correct as of 12 March 2016 International career Years Team Apps (Points) 2008 S.A. Under-20 3 (0) 2009 Template:Rut Kings 1 (0) 2009–14 South Africa (test) 35 (25) 2009–10 South Africa (tour) 3 (0) 2015– S.A. Sevens Correct as of 12 March 2016

Francois Hougaard (born 6 April 1988 in Paarl) is a professional South African rugby union rugby player. He is currently playing for Worcester Warriors. His primary position is scrumhalf, but he can also play on the wing. He played for Template:Rut Western Province in 2007 before joining the Template:Rut Blue Bulls; he spent eight seasons at the Pretoria-based team, representing them in the Currie Cup as well as playing Super Rugby for the Template:Rut Bulls.

He also represented South Africa between 2009 and 2014 and joined the South African Sevens team in 2015.

His first tour with the Springboks was to France, Italy, Ireland and England in late 2009 where he played in one test against Italy on 21 November 2009 and two touring matches. Hougaard helped his team to win both the Currie Cup in 2009, and the Super Rugby title in 2010, scoring tries in both finals.

2009

He scored a try in the Currie Cup final win 36-24 against the Free State Cheetahs (3rd min) following a superb crosskick from Fourie du Preez for his first final at 21 (the youngest player in the starting line) wearing the number 14 jersey.

2011

In the 2011 Super Rugby season, he showed great promise, adapting to his self-proclaimed preferred position of scrum half in the absence of Fourie Du Preez, very well, and as a result, landed a position in the Springbok World Cup Squad for the 2011 tournament. At school he played for Paul Roos Gymnasium.

2011 Rugby World Cup

Hougaard was selected and joined off the bench for South Africa's opening match scoring in the 65th minute in a 17-16 win over Wales. He was however dropped for the second game against Fiji which South Africa won 49-3 but started against Namibia in which he scored two tries and came off the bench against Samoa. South Africa was however knocked out of the cup, losing 11-9 to Australia. Hougaard came on in the 50th minute during that match.

2012 mid-year tests

Hougaard started all five games at scrum half against England and Argentina and scored one try against England. However, he was moved to the wing and his place at scrum half taken by the talented Ruan Pienaar in the first Championship Test against Australia on 8 September 2012.

S.A. Sevens

Signed a one-season contract with SA Rugby to represent the Blitzboks in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and at the Rio Olympics. Played in the first four legs of the 2015/16 series and scored the winning try in the 3rd/4th playoff against Australia at the Dubai 7s.

Worcester Warriors

In February 2016, Hougaard signed a short-term contract with English Premiership club Worcester Warriors for the remainder of the 2015–16 season. He made his debut for his new side in their match against Sale Sharks, marking the occasion by scoring a try in a 31–23 victory and also put in a man-of-the-match performance in their 15–14 victory over the Newcastle Falcons two weeks later. On 15 March 2016, it was announced that Hougaard signed a permanent contract with the team, but would be allowed to link up with the South African sevens team to participate at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

External links

• "SA Rugby Player Profile – Francois Hougaard". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
• ESPN Profile