Worcester confirm Francois Hougaard signing

As revealed by Neil Fissler in The Rugby Paper on February 7, Worcester Warriors have signed South Africa international Francois Hougaard until the end of the season.
The 27-year-old, who is primarily a scrum-half but can play on the wing, moves to Sixways following a spell with South Africa’s Sevens team.
The half-back first burst onto the international stage for the Springboks in 2009 before featuring at the 2011 Rugby World Cup and has gone on to win 35 Test caps.
Hougaard’s club career began at Western Province before moving to Pretoria to play for Super Rugby side the Bulls.
He said: “I can’t wait to play in Aviva Premiership Rugby and am relishing the challenge that lies ahead.
“After speaking with Dean and close friend Wynand Olivier, Worcester sounds like a fantastic place for any top-end athlete to be and I believe there is a lot to look forward to at the Club.
“Hopefully I can add some experience to the side and we can start pushing our way up the table in this last block of games.”
Director of Rugby Dean Ryan added: “Francois is a livewire scrum-half with enormous experience at the top level in South Africa.
“His signing is a statement of intent of where we are heading as a Club and we are genuinely excited about what he can bring to the table. We’d also like to thank the South African Rugby Union for allowing Francois to join us at this time.”