Francois Hougaard
Vodacom Blue Bulls halfback Francois Hougaard is fighting back the only way he knows how – with his game.
The tattooed utility back, whose inspired run at wing during the Vodacom Super Rugby season was the reason he lost his place in the Springbok side, bounced back with a vengeance in Bloemfontein last weekend to grab the man of the match award after an inspired performance at halfback.
It is true Hougaard could have left for Japan earlier like former skipper Pierre Spies, but he decided to stay, with one hope of winning the domestic trophy and another of making amends for his perceived wrongs during the Super Rugby season.
The debate has raged ever since he burst onto the scene, and showed he can be equally dangerous at wing or behind the scrum, but a period of instability, where his basic instincts let him down more often than not, served him badly during the last year and has all but ripped his World Cup dream away from him.
Hougaard is a fighter, that is true, and despite his detractors, knows all too well what he needs to do to catch the national selectors’ eyes again. Simply keep knocking on the door.
Performances like last weekend will do him no harm, but it is a prolonged run in the scrumhalf position that is his best chance and despite his best intentions and scintillating form on the wing, he knows his best chance of getting back into the Bok squad is at nine, and is relishing the prospect of showing his talents.
Bulls coach Nollis Marais has been impressed by Hougaard, who will line up again against Griquas on Friday night, and has gone to great lengths to talk about his impressive form and importance to the team.
“The one thing about Francois Hougaard, he is a very very good rugby player – we often forget how good he is,” Marais said, “The one thing about Francois, he is a very level-headed guy – if you back him he will play his heart out for you. He makes such a comfortable space for the juniors around him. He settles them down, and you could see it on Saturday, he has the x-factor, he was instrumental in that win, and he will be huge in this Currie Cup for us.
“He could have gone to Japan and after our meeting he said he wanted to win the Currie Cup. That was the first time I had spoken to him about the Currie Cup, he came on his own and said ‘coach I want to play Currie Cup’. That meant a lot to me, and you could see how he played on Saturday, he wants to play, he wants to prove a point. He wants to do well for the Blue Bulls and we’re very happy with that.”
Marais said Hougaard had been putting extra hours in to hone his skills, especially those who have let him down over the years. His passing game and his box kick in particular have been areas that the halfback is working on at the moment.
“We’ve been working hard with him, he hasn’t played scrumhalf for a while. Coach Pine (Pienaar) has been working hard with him on his passes. We’ve put a lot of time and effort into his basics. But taking that into consideration, he was very good on Saturday and looked like the guy who had played there every week for the past five or six years.”
As an attacking genius Hougaard is never underestimated, but he has moved a long way away from the player touted as Fourie du Preez’ replacement. While Japan awaits later in the year, and no certainty he will return to Loftus Versfeld after his Far East jaunt, the Bulls at least have him as part of a senior group of players guiding their young talent.
And Hougaard is smiling again, enjoying his rugby and playing a leadership role.
If he continues with his form of the past weekend, the Bulls won’t be the only happy ones in local rugby circles.
rugby365