Francois Hougaard to snub Leicester Tigers and make it big in Japan

Springbok Francois Hougaard is a target for English clubs (Getty)

Francois Hougaard, a Springbok scrum-half quick enough to play Test rugby on the wing and therefore a major target for more than one ambitious English club, may prove too elusive for his Premiership suitors, no matter how much cash they throw at him. Heavily linked with Leicester and Exeter, the South African is thought to be considering the most lucrative of all following this autumn’s World Cup – a move to Japan.

Hougaard, currently playing Super 15 rugby with the Pretoria-based Bulls, is among five South African internationals said to have been offered serious money to move to the Far East. Even though Richard Cockerill, the rugby director at Leicester, indicated that the Welford Roaders were interested in splashing out on “the right man” for next season, when the Premiership salary cap will be well north of £5m and two “marquee” players can be paid over and above that figure, it is most unlikely that he will be able to better the wages on offer in Japan.

Other big-name South Africans thought to be considering a similar move are the No 8 Pierre Spies, who played against the British and Irish Lions in 2009, and the outside back J J Engelbrecht. Several recent Springboks, including the scrum-half Fourie du Preez and the midfielder Frans Steyn, have spent a good deal of time in the Japanese club game.

Meanwhile, one of the clubs in the lower reaches of this season’s Premiership could find themselves playing competitive rugby in the freezing wastes of Siberia next term. Yenisei-STM, who play their rugby in Krasnoyarsk, have beaten the Romanian side Baia Mare over two legs to become the first Russian team to qualify for the second-tier European Challenge Cup – the tournament won by Gloucester on Friday night.