Hougaard stays in Pretoria

Francois Hougaard has signed a three-year extension to his contract that will see him stay with the Bulls until the end of 2012.

Hougaard, currently on tour with the Springboks, made his Test debut against Italy last week.

He didn’t play Craven Week for Western Province and left the union at the end of 2007, but with Fourie du Preez and Heini Adams at Loftus, Hougaard has also been used at outside centre and wing this year. He will be hoping to shed the ‘utility’ tag and settle at his preferred scrumhalf position in the near future.



63 Comments

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  • 1.Provincejoulekkading: Reply to this comment

    Overrated

  • 2.tsiko: Reply to this comment

    I am a big fan. He is going to make it big. He has all the attributes to become a good 9.

    What school did he attend?

  • 3.PissAnt: Reply to this comment

    @Provincejoulekkading:

    Hehehe.

    Play this kid at 9 otherwise you are wasting him.

    Bulls has some juggling to do…

  • 4.Bok fan: Reply to this comment

    Na I liked him at 13, had a blinder.

    Why would you sign a 3 year contract with a union when you the 3rd choice in your favourite position? Unless he has plans to play wing or centre I can’t understand why hes staying

  • 5.PissAnt: Reply to this comment

    @tsiko:

    Paul Roos.

  • 6.Taahirah: Reply to this comment

    @tsiko: Agreed. Natural successor to FDP post 2011.

  • 7.grant10: Reply to this comment

    FDP will get plenty rest next year….and in 2011….Hougaard being groomed…he is only 21…great for Bulls…..come 2011 WC FDP will go overseas….Bulls are intelligent man managers…

  • 8.tsiko: Reply to this comment

    @PissAnt: Thank you P, you fountain-of-non-essential-information! ;-)

    Did he play 9 at school? And do you know who the Craven Week scrummie was when he was in matric?

  • 9.Transformation: Reply to this comment

    this oke is a pretender, if he had his own game & was not a Fdp clone! In the saracens game he was just useless!

  • 10.Brigadier Van Zyl: Reply to this comment

    Sweet Mary

    Please, please let him turn into a Fourie DuPreez clone!

  • 11.Pepe: Reply to this comment

    This guy is a useless scrum Heini Adams much better. I think he plays better as a wing but nothing great about him just had a average Currie Cup and got into the Bok team.

  • 12.Pepe: Reply to this comment

    This guy is a useless scrumhalf Heini Adams much better. I think he plays better as a wing but nothing great about him. He had a average Currie Cup and got into the Bok team.

  • 13.Transformation: Reply to this comment

    @Brigadier Van Zyl: clone = “fong kong” cheap low quality version of the real thing, knock-off (like them bulle jerseys y’all wear that lose colour after the first wash), umdubulo, umkokotelo = francois hougaard…. :D

  • 14.PissAnt: Reply to this comment

    @tsiko:

    Yes he did play scrummy at school and the scrummy in the Craven Week side was one Clayton Stewart from Strand…

    Hougaard did not even make the academy side.

  • 15.gunther: Reply to this comment

    he was the best player on the park against the lions earlier this year, tim will tell but he has got talent…

  • 16.Staal: Reply to this comment

    and the negative & critizising bloggers are as always on form…

    cut & paste this……

    Fourie will be rested a lot in 2010……

    and dream on …. this kid is the no 2 scrummie at the Bulls….

    i as a Bull supporter is happy to have this “no hoper”, overrated, useless” scrumhalf at snor city, aka, CC & S14 champs of 2009….

    Don’t tell me later i didn’t tell you to cut and paste this please. :lol:

  • 17.Provincejoulekkading: Reply to this comment

    @Pepe: He aint THAT bad Pepe, but alot of pressure/expectation is going to be put on this good, just hope hes got the screws to handle it.

  • 18.tsiko: Reply to this comment

    @pissant – Many thanks

    @staal – I couldn’t agree more. FH is strong, quick, kicks well, has good tactical awareness, defends well, very strong in the air. Don’t know whether he is strong minded, but if he is, then surely he is a very good replacement for FdP.

    Much rather have him at my union than not.

  • 19.justrugby: Reply to this comment

    @Staal:

    I’m with you on this one Staal !!

  • 20.Taahirah: Reply to this comment

    @Transformation: Even a cheap low quality FDP is better than no FDP at all. And light years better than anyone else out there.

  • 21.Transformation: Reply to this comment

    @tsiko: @Staal: “tactical awareness” is that what he was showing you when he got charged down twice against sarries?

    “very strong in the air” yes that’s why mapoe made him his ***** twice in the CC:..yeah keep dreaming

  • 22.gunther: Reply to this comment

    adams is a good 9 however he has no kicking game..

    which is unfortunate..

  • 23.charo: Reply to this comment

    @Transformation:

    which white players do you rate then?

  • 24.Taahirah: Reply to this comment

    @Transformation: So following your logic any rugby player who has ever had two kicks charged down in a game has no tactical awareness? The list would be endless.

    Again. Anyone who has ever been beaten in the air tice in one game can not possibly strong in the air? Another neverending list.

  • 25.Cyborg: Reply to this comment

    @Taahirah:
    I think Transie makes a very valid point actually. How can you say a player who gets charged down twice in the same game has “good tactical awareness”? Furthermore, I wouldn’t call a player who gets beaten in the air as “strong in the air”.

    The fact of the matter is that you list these as attributes or areas in which he is very good when there is evidence to the contrary.

  • 26.gunther: Reply to this comment

    @Cyborg:

    so players ith good tactical awarenss NEVER get charged down twice in one game? behind a scrum going backwards ? i think not….

  • 27.Transformation: Reply to this comment

    @Taahirah:keep punting…

    @charo: oooohh it had to be racial neh?…chips on the shoulder up in the Gold Coast…

  • 28.Cyborg: Reply to this comment

    @gunther:
    That’s right, never. A player with “good” tactical awareness wouldn’t let that happen twice in a game. How on earth does this show “good” tactical awareness?

    Fact of the matter is if this had happened to a player like Francois Steyn half the bloggers here would have been up in arms about him being stupid and being tactically clueless.

  • 29.Taahirah: Reply to this comment

    @Cyborg: So if I were to bring you evidence of a game in which say Dan Carter got charged down twice you would slant him to have no tactical awareness? Or having been beaten to the ball in the air twice renders JP Pietersen useless?

  • 30.Taahirah: Reply to this comment

    @Cyborg: You do know that tactical awareness and the execution of an action based on that awareness are two seperate concepts? FH might have been tactically aware of the situation but poorly executed his kicks for a number of reasons?

  • 31.charo: Reply to this comment

    @Transformation:

    seems to be a pattern though in your posts.

  • 32.gunther: Reply to this comment

    @Cyborg:

    yes they would and they would still be wrong and that first kick from the base of scrum in freefall with nobody to pass to ….what would you have done mr “tactically aware”

  • 33.Transformation: Reply to this comment

    @charo: that’s what your race radar picks up when i’m praising heirich brussouw?! When victor annihilates isaac ross & i cheer that’s what you decipher, a racial undertone? When i cheer “bulging armsi” luke watson, when i rate LITTLE joe pietersen, when i rue the fact that jano vermaak got injured u pick that i’m racial?
    When i say louis ludik is better 15 than frans steyn…

    You know what….mnxim!

  • 34.pedspin: Reply to this comment

    Surely you don’t go from raw talent to being a Springbok? This chap hasn’t even extended parts at Currie Cup or Super 14 level. Maybe he should put in some time and prove himself at those levels before he is taken to the summit. The message his inclusion send to other rather talented S/H’s is a poor one.

    If we had a lack of talent then fine try such an experiment, however we are highly talented in this position. No need.

    This chap must be very highly regarded OR IMO very highly connected.

  • 35.charo: Reply to this comment

    @Transformation:

    if anyone has a “race radar”………..

  • 36.Cyborg: Reply to this comment

    @Taahirah:
    And what are those reasons?

    @gunther:
    Probably the same thing that Hougaard did. But then again I do have poor tactical awareness. Hmmm…

  • 37.Transformation: Reply to this comment

    @charo: whatever charo, you won’t succeed ou toppie…ha ha ha…between sarel pretorius & francois hougaard who had a better currie cup?

  • 38.Transformation: Reply to this comment

    @gunther: lol, that’s why mpho mbiyozo got man of the match because francois hougaard was the best… :D take ur blinkers of Gza!

  • 39.charo: Reply to this comment

    @Transformation:

    bad day at the office today?

  • 40.gunther: Reply to this comment

    @Transformation:

    lol its always blinkers and bigots with you hey…so what if he was man of the match…. does the best player always get man of the match houggaard was injured just after half time was he not? look at the boks on saturday jaques fourie man of the match WTF?

  • 41.gunther: Reply to this comment

    all this pissing backwards and forwards is quite futile… the guy is just starting out his career how how fares only time will tell…rate him or don’t rate him for whatever reason you want the selectors clearly see something in him … lets se how he goes…

  • 42.SpringbokSarah: Reply to this comment

    Him and his bloody “winning culture”

    we used to talk a lot… but now he can take a jump for all I care

  • 43.Transformation: Reply to this comment

    @gunther: you okes being ridiculous, are you unable to convince me that francois hougaard is good & deserves to be on the bench of the springboks? That’s what i was waiting for not this labeling, i’m quite disappointed… :-(

  • 44.groenie: Reply to this comment

    @Transformation:

    I dont agree with you Hougaard is a great 9 he did play **** against saracens but to be fair he did not play at 9 for a long time and was put under a lot of pressure with his scrum going backwards at 100km an hour.

    He is strong on his feet, great defender and can pass with same speed an accuracy as Fourie and has the pace of Bryan Habana, you should judge him after the next super 14, I am sure you will have to eat your words!

  • 45.SodaJoe: Reply to this comment

    @Transformation: Tannie. I just think they are saying it’s too early to tell, but on first look he is going to be something.

    But can’t really follow your thread.

  • 46.SodaJoe: Reply to this comment

    @groenie: He does remind me of FdP a lot actually. But needs to speed up his pass, and get a bit more accurate with the box kick.

    But reads a game well, very forceful around the fringes, long pass.

    But honestly, I think Kockott, Vermaak & Sarel Pretorious are all better.

    I think Ruan is a better 10 than 9.

  • 47.groenie: Reply to this comment

    @SodaJoe:

    Yes I would pick Vermaak as the back up to Fourie for the boks, but Hougaard will get a lot of game time at 9 in the next super 14 and who knows he might even out play fourie, his pass will get better and also the box kick, being around fourie a lot of him will rub off.

    I read on the bulls site that Hougaard is the 4th fastest player in bulls squad, with speed like that he will be very dangerous around the fringes, lot like Joost was in his prime.

  • 48.gunther: Reply to this comment

    @Transformation:

    who’s doing the labelling ?

    @SodaJoe:

    nobody can..

  • 49.gunther: Reply to this comment

    @SodaJoe:

    you are not the only one….

    @Transformation:

    who is doing the labelling?

  • 50.skopskiet: Reply to this comment

    Its still an elitist sport amongst a small enclave of the population, whichever way you like to view the parameters.

    If it ever got to become the popular sport of choice amongst the bigger fraternity, then the sky would be the limit. it won’t. I doubt.

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