Hougaard yearns for scrumhalf return
22 Nov 2012
Francois Hougaard says he is better suited to scrumhalf than wing and admits to feeling like he is stalling Lwazi Mvovo’s Test career.
In a refreshingly candid interview, Hougaard, who started the Test season as Heyneke Meyer’s first-choice scrumhalf but was later shifted to wing, spoke about his positional preference, his form and his feelings on Mvovo’s plight.
Hougaard shone for the Bulls in 2009 and 2010 on the wing, but struggled to make the transition back to scrumhalf (where he’d played most of his career) when Fourie du Preez moved on. This season was one of adjustment, painful at times, as Hougaard battled to come to terms with the tactical demands of the Bulls’ game plan, particularly the kicking disciplines.
Those struggles carried over into the Test arena, before he was finally replaced by Ruan Pienaar for the Rugby Championship. Yet Heyneke Meyer still placed high value on his game-breaking ability and accommodated him on the wing.
Asked to assess his season, Hougaard said: ‘I haven’t been happy with my form. I’m still learning a lot at scrumhalf, but I haven’t played much there. I still train there everyday, but you only get better if you play. I still think that’s my best position.
‘In the long run I’m a scrumhalf. I want to settle in one position or I run the risk of being an average wing and an average scrumhalf. I don’t want that to happen. I know I have so much to work on at scrumhalf, but I’d prefer to cover scrumhalf from the bench for the Springboks [in 2013] if it means I’m not thrown around positionally [scrumhalf at the Bulls and wing with the Springboks].’
With the reduced time and space on offer in Test rugby [compared to Super Rugby] and greater analysis available on him after his impressive cameos off the wood as a wing in 2011, Hougaard has yet to entrench himself in the position. There are mitigating factors, among them the Springboks’ inability to engineer opportunities for him. Hougaard, however, refused to look beyond himself for blame, and continued with a startling admission.
‘The coach plays me ahead of Lwazi on wing, but I feel for him. I would understand and support the decision to play him ahead of me,’ he said. ‘It feels unfair to me because I’m playing in his position and not doing that well. Its easy to tell the guys to keep themselves up on a three-week tour, where they sit on the bench or never play. It’s not nice and not easy, I’ve been there. But I’m here now and I have to take the chance. I’m working hard every day to improve.’
409 Comments
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22 Nov 2012, 08:55 am
Hougaard has either got very big cahunas or feels so secure in the Bok setup that he can rather patronisingly say “The coach plays me ahead of Lwazi on wing, but I feel for him. I would understand and support the decision to play him ahead of me”…
22 Nov 2012, 08:55 am
@Jeez-13: Good point. People love to go on about how such-and-such a coach would have been much better, but forget that hardly anyone worthwhile actually applied for the job (which is not surprising, considering the enormous amount of hysterical screeching that has been aimed at every coach that I can remember). South African fans are so polarised that no matter who gets the job, a significant percentage of the public will ***** and moan about him, regardless of results (unless he achieves the mythical 80% win rate, which won’t happen until coaches from school level and upwards start coaching actual skills, as opposed to selecting the biggest, doffest okes and telling them to moer the opposition).
22 Nov 2012, 08:56 am
@Sasuke-44: Eddie Jones saved JW’s asss if you ask me. The point is the SA supporters refuse to be patient and learn from history. Firing HM after his first year wont help the boks cause and development. He’s not deaf to criticism and has the skills as coach to improve the team… besides who would take over? And who would be so stupid to take a job after the previous coach was fired before finishing his contract?
22 Nov 2012, 08:57 am
@poppa69-45:
Kia ora Bro….wouldn’t consider my comments pandering, just how I see it. But you are right about Greyling, his sentence should have received a review too, due to intent.
22 Nov 2012, 08:58 am
@whatever-50: you just cant help yourself can you dole bludging pond life..
I dont nearly stink up the place half as bad as you stink up the north shore..
funny though, when you left at the crumbling of apartheid didnt you realise there are brown people in NZ too?
22 Nov 2012, 08:58 am
@Jeez-47: Yes forward pack is settled and pretty awesome, Bismarck to come in and further strengthen the pack.
The backline needs lots of work. Goosen could possibly improve that by 25%.
22 Nov 2012, 09:01 am
what does kia ora mean in your strange language? in afrikaans it means : whatsup cannibal
22 Nov 2012, 09:01 am
There you go, not long before your racist comments and abject saffa hatred comes to the fore. You really are a pathetic specimen!
22 Nov 2012, 09:04 am
@zub-52:
I agree. SA wont be as dangerous on attack if the players dont have coaching of the same standard… Imo we need kiwi coaches or our coaches should get their backline coaching education in Nz… We are far behind in this department. And as long as franchises appoint mediocre coaches like Fleck (two seasons with UCT) and Matfield as attack coaches SA players wont move forward… pun intended.
Jeez they can afford foreign coaches, why not appoint them?
22 Nov 2012, 09:04 am
Not to mention your love of a generalisation, go check the doors and windows and keep your Aussie masters happy …. Doos!
22 Nov 2012, 09:05 am
@Te Rangatira-54: kia ora bro..
seems losers will always look for things like officials being paid, dconspiracies etc instead of turning the microscope on the real reasons..
SAs arent smart enough to teach their youngsters how to offload or to hit a gap..
they are still in the caveman stage of rugby…until they admit it things wont change for them..
SA rugby is K@K!!
22 Nov 2012, 09:06 am
@whatever-60: that one post seemingly resonates with you doesnt it? I get good value for trolling whenever youre around..
two posts to respond to one..
so you never answered my question, did you leave before apartheid ended or not long after? care to enlighten us or do you need to hide the truth?
22 Nov 2012, 09:07 am
De Moer met menseregte
De Moer met die Minister van Onderwys.
De Moer met die hele vokken regering.
Vok die ANC
Vok die vlag
en Vok Sokker!
22 Nov 2012, 09:09 am
@Sasuke-37:
very probable somebody has been ‘paid off’, whether money has changed hands or not its obvious the nz’s are profficient at manipulating and influencing the decisions of judicial officers and referees
they have skillful dedicated personel who focus on and target these irb individuals with lots of false modesty and feigned friendship with the express purpose of subconciously getting into their heads as ‘friends’ and imprinting the fake fact that they ‘are good, decent blokes’…. the end result is the officials find themselves unduly considerate of their players at all and any times, even when they do the absolute worst.
the probelm for the rugby world as a whole is we are targetted by them on an individual basis each and every time they trangress with the resutl being we view each and every one of their transgressions in isolation of each other.
once the whole world starts view all these instances as a whole to the pattern starts to emerge of a country hell bent on manipulating the laws, rules, spirit, good ethics and moral code of the game.
a game we all love and a game in danger of losing its beauty and appeal thanks to the selfish intent and efforts of a single part member of this community.
divide the rugby nations minds and conquer their individual perceptions and efforts… this is their way.
22 Nov 2012, 09:10 am
You are plain and simple a saffa hating **** end. Over and over again your true colours come out, really suprises me that you continue to troll this site, but like everywhere there are doos’s who can spew their vile hatred anomously.
22 Nov 2012, 09:11 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-64:
“country hell bent on manipulating the laws, rules, spirit, good ethics and moral code of the game”
hahahaha classic paranoia..
your a dckhead bakkies, truly..
22 Nov 2012, 09:12 am
@Sasuke-56: Yeah and Fransie could add a lot too if he has a decent 10 on his inside… Correct me if Im wrong, but poor FSteyn mostly had MorneS on his inside before injury.
9 Pienaar
10 Goosen/ Lambie /Jantjies (vast improvement from having MS as pivot)
11 Habana
12 FSteyn
13 JDJ/ JPP
14 JPP/ Rhule
15 Taute
2013 looking pretty good…
22 Nov 2012, 09:13 am
@whatever-65: I dont hate Saffas, on the contrary.. there are some decent ones arouind
I do hate you though, because youre a fckwit of the highest order..
still no answer to my question? says all it needs to..
22 Nov 2012, 09:14 am
@Te Rangatira-43:
absolutely and agreed.
if we get this right then rugby as a whole is the winner, irrespective of the individual nations concerned.
also, please dont feel offended by my strong criticism of nz in my post #64.
just telling like i feel it is.
22 Nov 2012, 09:15 am
it looks like Gary Kirsten’s tactic of treating the soft in the head Proteas like ADULTS is paying dividends.
22 Nov 2012, 09:16 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-69: how could he not be offended..
youve generalised and tarred a whole country with your post, seems strange that no one takes you up on this but when I do it people like the fckwit get their girls blouses in a knot..
typical… and very hypocritical..
22 Nov 2012, 09:16 am
@Jeez-59: Every-time our teams have had ANZAC coaches or assistants coaches they’ve achieved great things. Sharks with Campese: Super Rugby finalists. Bulls with Louden: Super Rugby champs. Boks with Jones: World Champs. Sharks with Plum: Currie Cup champs and man shaming the Reds at home in a SR semi-final. Mitchell with the Lions, Currie Cup champs.
It’s a no-brainer for HM to recruit a quality ANZAC back-line coach who also has a say in back-line selection while he concentrates on the forwards. We’d be so much better off than we are today under Van Graan and Loubscher it’s ridiculous.
22 Nov 2012, 09:17 am
@Jeez-59: Why would a foreign coach want to coach the Boks? Between the administrators and the fans, they’ll be f*cked from day one. Did any foreign coaches apply for the job? I think we’re stuck with locals for the foreseeable future. I also think that our players are so far behind in terms of skills (Kiwi props have better handling and offloading skills than our backs) that there’s very little a foreigner would be able to do. What we need is a national coaching symposium, involving every single school coach, primary and high school. During a drinks break, they can all be given brandy laced with Rohypnol, moved to a specially created maximum security prison, and their jobs given to Kiwis and Aussies.
22 Nov 2012, 09:17 am
@poppa69-68: Some of your best friends are saffas, right?
22 Nov 2012, 09:18 am
@Spiesisworthless1-72: you forgot Laurie Mains as well..
22 Nov 2012, 09:18 am
Good potential if plays to his natural strengths. This is also why he’s not as some expect on the wing atm his heart/mind is at scrumhalf. Still be great off the bench at 11 or 9.
22 Nov 2012, 09:19 am
@trupisero-74: yep, Im actually going to the one dayer in Sydney with one..
22 Nov 2012, 09:19 am
@71 hahaha what a hypocritical doos comment . You have consistently generalized in your saffa attacks. You are really a sad case with zero cred ar sehole
22 Nov 2012, 09:22 am
@77 hope he gives you a poesklap
22 Nov 2012, 09:22 am
@poppa69-61:
I remember when I was a kid-U/15s playing for the Mighty Oats Leopards against Ponsonby who had Tony Tuimavave, Vila Matautia etc and when our team turned up their parents were saying “feel sorry for those little fellas, their going to get a hiding”, then we started carving them with the Oats gameplan and Mark Graham skillset….seems like yesterday
22 Nov 2012, 09:23 am
@whatever-78: ooh who needs cred on a blog… I dont, sad that you think cred on a blog is soooo important though…dont you have a life?
22 Nov 2012, 09:23 am
@Te Rangatira-54:
agreed on the greyling sanction.
my take on it is he benefitted from a form of ‘reverse advantage’ the boks enjoy at times in that our players are so often targetted, penalised, carded, sanctioned… many times fairly, many times unfairly, many times grossly out of step with the degree of seriousness in regard the transgression.
in that our players sometimes have the luck of getting away with a lighter than usual sanction in some instances only because we had been heavily sanctioned punished in the weeks/games leading up to the instance in which the player gets off lightly.
22 Nov 2012, 09:24 am
@poppa69-66:
call me what you like, its still true.
22 Nov 2012, 09:24 am
@zub-73: Sound like a great plan and the only one that will probably work to get our players to get decent skills coaching…
@Spiesisworthless1-72:
So true. I figure HM wanted to appoint Louden… probably wasnt available. Loubcher was apparently his understudy while at the bulls… but he still doesnt have the right credentials to coach at international level, hardly any SA backline coaches do! Why the stormers appointed Fleck and the bulls Matfield as attacking coach Ill never know. Jeez like you mentioned its clear that you could vastly improve your team if you appoint a foreign (nz/aus) coach! SA rugby just seems to be thick in the head.
I believe HM realizes that they dont have adequate coaching at back, his words: ‘it might be a coaching thing’ so hopefully he’ll fix that in 2013, hopefully by getting a foreign consultant!
22 Nov 2012, 09:25 am
Hougaard is overrated at scrum-half. He is no Pienaar or Classens and definitely isn’t a Dupreez. Even Jano Vermaak diserves to play before him.
Hougaard has a poor box kick and poor pass. He’s only good at running with the ball of which if that’s who he wants to be, then play him wing.
As a winger i think he is quality, just needs to be better in his defense.
22 Nov 2012, 09:27 am
If kak Clarke can get 220 on this wicket … imagine how much Kallis will get ,,,,, 450? … okay he has a sore hamstring … maybe 350?
22 Nov 2012, 09:28 am
@poppa69-45: “i see houston et al are comfortable with his 2 weeks”
reallty?!
here is a sample of reactions from the greyling ban thread
32. Hammer said:
16 Sep 2012, 12:00 pm
Bok management should appeal the
suspension…… on the grounds that they
were too lenient.
That was the dumbest thing I have ever
seen.
His match fee should be donated to a
charity of RMs choice.
Meyer should also publicly state that this
loser will never be considered for the bokke
again for as long as he is the coach.
22 Nov 2012, 09:28 am
@poppa69-71:
but poppa, the collusion is clearly being carried out at the highest levels of your rugby administration and considering this is the case, their will be some sharing/awareness of this knowledge in your government too.
you unfortunately, notwithstanding the fact you are rather quite one-eyed to begin with, are represented individually and as a whole by your elected/chosen administrators in this regard.
22 Nov 2012, 09:30 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-82:
Seems all you want is consistency….fair enough. Its a bit like when the ref tries to even up the penalty count…kinda does my head in.
22 Nov 2012, 09:35 am
@poppa69-77: cool..don’t go all John Hopoate on him please.
22 Nov 2012, 09:38 am
Brave and honest stance from Hougaard. HM must listen to what this oke is saying…..it is helleva important….
22 Nov 2012, 09:41 am
If Hougaard wants to return to scrumhalf he (and whoever coaches/d him) needs a wake up. Have a look at how the Argie and Samoan scrumhalves played. No stupid centipedes and dawdling waiting for your forward tanks to trundle forward a few paces before knocking on. Sharp, crisp service, phase after phase until the defence cannot organise and you have a breakthrough or overlap; a penalty at least. Danie Craven and All Black stuff; it ain’t new. Against Test opposition, JdJ/Lambie etc isn’t going to ghost through each time he gets the ball. JdV or a forward needs to get over the advantage line. An offload to a support player on the shoulder can help. But then ruck ball needs to get out slick and fast like Catholic birth control. Particularly turnover ball.
Territorial and speculative kicking has its place but then you need to follow up sharpish and have players who can stop a quick throw in, challenge for the ball in the air and contest on the ground and in the lineout.
To my mind this is what Meyer et al should be coaching; if they can. Just getting a half decent scrum coach would be good.
22 Nov 2012, 09:42 am
@stormersboy-63: Wys ***** nou eers in Tygervalley?
22 Nov 2012, 09:42 am
Po-ena is banned?
22 Nov 2012, 09:43 am
@XhosaKid-32: Good man Xhosakid.
At the end of the day in South Africa, you are rarely wrong to shout racism.
I’ve seen the way some dudes scream for Apartheid in the way they treat public services. There is a lack of respect and an air of condescension.
i have lived in the UK, and it’s not much better but Londoners are a lot more open-minded, so if you have to “cry Wolf” then do it loudly.
22 Nov 2012, 09:44 am
Hougie.
I hope you’ve had this conversation with Heyneke prior to running your mouth off to a journalist.
22 Nov 2012, 09:44 am
@grant10-91: Agreed,Hougaard will make far more of an impact coming off the bench at 9 than languishing on the wing where he never sees the ball.
22 Nov 2012, 09:57 am
Hougaard needs to iron out his box kick technique – he gets charged down too often.
He should join The Sharks which would suite his game perfectly! Bulls and Bok rugby (under Meyer) will destroy his natural flair and instinct for the game!
I feel seriously sorry for him – he is yet another massive talent going to waste in SA Rugby.
22 Nov 2012, 10:02 am
@Te Rangatira-89:
this must be one of the most ridiculous things to occur in the game in recent times.
all it teaches teams is that they can attempt to get away with more cheating in expectation that the opposition will be penalised as much as they will be, even if the oppostion does not infringe as much.
22 Nov 2012, 10:07 am
@poppa69-71:
I went back and read post#64, some weird stuff there brought on by a little paranoia methinks…Its called the blame game….gets you nowhere.
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