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Former Springbok sets sights on career in the NFL

What Maro Itoje might look like if he swapped rugby for the NFL.

Former Springbok flyhalf and ace kicker Derick Hougaard, once the Liefling of Loftus as a Blue Bulls player, will be turning out at the World Wide Scholarships (WWS) December talent scouting camp as he grabs the opportunity to switch sporting codes from Rugby to American football.

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Hougaard, who still holds the record for the number of points scored in a Currie Cup final (26) as well as points scored in a Super Rugby semi-final (27 against the Crusaders), made his debut for the Springboks at age 20 and enjoyed success for the Boks, the Bulls, Leicester Tigers and Saracens in the UK before having his career cut short by serious injury in 2013. He retired from all rugby in 2015.

Now aged 37-years-old, Hougaard said that when he heard that WWS was hosting a mega-talent scouting camp in December and bringing out American football talent identification experts from the United States, he just knew he had to be part of the camp.

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Sexton and Farrell talk to the press:

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Sexton and Farrell talk to the press:

“I had a great 14 years as a rugby player, but when any athlete has their career cut short by injury there is unfinished business,” said Hougaard.

“Playing sport professionally is a way of life and every professional athlete would prefer to end their career on their own terms. I have played rugby all over the world and ending my career as an American football player in the United States would be a great win for me.”

Hougaard believes he has at least another five years of top-level playing within him.

“All athletes dream of a second chance and this is mine. There are no guarantees in sports, and the COVID-19 pandemic has taught me to not leave my dreams to chance and to rather be but as proactive as possible – I have already ordered a full kit from the US and have begun training to be fit and ready for the trials,” he says.

WWS is the world’s leading African talent linkage organisation, helping international sporting clubs and universities discover young talent on the continent for potentially lucrative opportunities overseas. This year’s WWS talent scouting camp (WWS Scout Camp 2020) will feature American football talent identification for the first time in Africa and will allow local athletes who believe they have the right skills to make it in the NCAA or the NFL to go through a series of non-contact drills to show their ability.

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Alongside NFL talent scouts will be Bart Schoeman, WWS director of rugby and former high-performance manager of the Lions rugby franchise. Bart is a well-respected talent identification and development personality in South Africa with links to both professional rugby franchises and the NFL in the United States.

Hougaard was first encouraged to take up gridiron while playing at Saracens in the UK, because of his strong kicking ability.

“American football is famous for being a precise game with little margin for error, which is why they demand incredible kicking accuracy. My injury interrupted any initial thoughts of playing in the NFL, but I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to finally try out for this exciting and highly competitive sport.”

The WWS Scout Camp 2020 will be held from 14 – 18 December at Camp Discovery, 60km from Pretoria. Interested athletes can sign up at www.wwsscoutcamp.com

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O
Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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