Cape Town - Versatile Springbok back Francois Hougaard could feature for the Kings in next year’s Super Rugby competition.
Hougaard recently signed a deal with the South African Rugby Union (SARU) to play for the Springbok Sevens team in the upcoming 2015/16 season, but it was expected that he would be released for some part of the Bulls’ Super Rugby campaign.
However, according to Rapport newspaper, Hougaard may feature for the Kings in Port Elizabeth.
The Kings are in dire financial straits which prompted SARU to step in and take charge of the franchise ahead of their re-entry into Super Rugby.
Rassie Erasmus, SARU’s Director of Rugby, along with his team of coaches at SARU’s mobi-unit, will assist the Kings during the competition.
A few of the other South African franchises are also likely to be asked to release some of their fringe players to the Kings.
But the Kings will relish having Hougaard in their camp, with the 27-year-old equally adept at scrumhalf and wing.
The Bulls were keen to utilise Hougaard, but according to the Afrikaans newspaper, SARU wanted up to R100 000 per match to release him to the Pretoria franchise.