Derick Hougaard: Friends say retired rugby star ‘stopped drinking’

Friends of former Springboks player Derick Hougaard are requesting the results of a toxicology test, amid news he has been in a coma for over a week.

Despite confirmation the retired rugby player contracted respiratory pneumonia, his close circle is reportedly questioning what exactly happened to him.

According to friends who spoke to Rapport, Derick has been on the straight on narrow when it came to his sobriety. The ex-Blue Bulls star allegedly had an “alcohol and pain pill” addiction, his ex-wife Karlien van Jaarsveld said in 2018.

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FRIENDS WANT A TOXICOLOGY REPORT

According to Rapport, friends of Derick Hougaard are seeking the results of a toxicology report.

This after Derick’s girlfriend Nadine discovered him unconscious after visiting him at his Pretoria home on Saturday, 10 June. The father-of-two was then rushed to a state hospital, where he is currently in a coma in the ICU.

“He has not been awake since then and has been on a ventilator because his lungs are not working properly,” a source told the publication.

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The source added that doctors gave Derick a “50/50” chance of waking up from his coma.

According to WebMD, a toxicology report looks for traces of drugs in your blood, urine, hair, sweat, or saliva.

‘HE STOPPED DRINKING’

Meanwhile, friends of Derick Hougaard have claimed that he “stopped drinking” recently.

A source told Rapport: “We as his friends have rallied around him and supported him as he pulled himself out of the hole and won the battle.”

Another added: “He was completely sober at Nadine’s birthday party on 1 June. It is unclear whether he had the use of pain pills under control.”

Since retiring, Derick tried his hand at a career in the NFL as well as in a celebrity boxing match against muso Francois van Coke in 2021.

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In 2018, Derick made headlines when his ex-wife Karlien van Jaarsveld claimed their twin boys had gone “missing” whilst in his custody. She also claimed that Derick was “drunk” during a day out with their kids.

However, the incident turned out to be a misunderstanding, and the children were found safely found in Derick’s care.

In a Facebook post shortly after, Karlien – who divorced the rugby star in 2015 – defended her decision to speak out on Derick.

She wrote: “Derick may only supervise the children according to the court order because of his pill and alcohol addiction, and because of the life of my children and my children, he has been at risk several times.

“He has been in and out of rehabilitation centers several times. I was terrified of concern because I feared for the safety of my children” at the stadium.”