FRANCOIS HOUGAARD HAS left the South African sevens squad to join English Premiership team Worcester on a short contract.
The Springbok scrum-half is currently on a one-year contract with the Springbok sevens side with a view to competing at the Rio Olympics.
Hougaard, 27 and capped 35 times by South Africa, will return to the squad in May, in time to be considered for selection for the last two World Series tournaments of the season, in Paris (May 14-15) and a week later at Twickenham in London.
Since joining the Springbok sevens, Bulls stalwart Hougaard has played in four World Rugby Sevens Series tournaments, helping South Africa to joint-first place as well as victory in the inaugural Cape Town Sevens.
“This is a great opportunity for Francois and he was always keen on the idea of exploring playing opportunities overseas,” said Springbok sevens coach Neil Powell.
“He has kept us informed at all times and we had him scheduled to skip the next couple of tournaments anyway, because of our rotation system.”
