Francois Hougaard could return to Worcester after Rio

Worcester's loan signing Francois Hougaard says he is open to extending his stay at Sixways after making an immediate impact with the west Midlands outfit.
South Africa Test star Hougaard marked an impressive Warriors debut at scrum-half with a try in last week's crucial 31-23 victory over Sale, before revealing that he turned down interest from Leicester and Exeter last year in a bid to play in the Olympics.
Hougaard, who is on loan from South Africa 7s, told The Rugby Paper: “I'm here to the end of this season and then I'll go back to 7s for the Olympics in Rio this August, but I'm still in the process of deciding what I'm going to do after that.
“I'm purely focusing on Worcester right now, though, and it's a club I'd like to stay at because it's an unbelievable set-up. I've only been here a short while but the coaching staff and guys are so professional and it's a great place to play.”
On interest from Leicester and Exeter, Hougaard added: “There were talks between my agent and those guys but I've ended up coming to Worcester.
“I spoke to Wynand Olivier, who I played with at the Bulls, and he told me about the set-up and how well things worked here. Everything's brilliant and with Gerrit-Jan van Velze and Dewald Potgieter here, who I also knew from the Bulls, it's been great so far.
“I'd been in 7s and wanted to play 15s again, so what better challenge is there than to play in the Aviva Premiership? Conditions are different to what I've been used to in South Africa, where it's pretty much perfect for every game, but it's been a special journey getting to know the guys and playing and training in the cold and wet of England.”
Worcester are far from assured of Premiership safety but Hougaard claims to have seen enough already to convince him they should be looking up the table rather than down.
He said: “Mid-table is obviously the goal and we're looking to work our way up there and turn our whole season around between now and May.
“It was a dream start against Sale. The Premiership is a great league and all the teams are very closely matched, with great players, but I just want to make a difference and contribute positively, so to get a good win was important.
“There'd been frustration in the club after a number of narrow defeats, but there's no better feeling than winning and to see what it meant to all the boys, our coaches and the supporters has produced a really positive feeling around the place.
“There are small things still to work on but we're working hard to address those and are really looking forward to the challenge ahead.”
NEALE HARVEY