Star opens up on Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp "love triangle" saga
<p>South African rugby star Francois Hougaard has opened up on the long-running rumours that a text message that he sent to Reeva Steenkamp sparked her brutal murder, which was done by Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius six years ago.</p>
<p>Steenkamp was shot dead by Pistorius through the bathroom door of his home in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013.</p>
<p>Pistorius is serving a prison sentence of more than 13 years for her murder.</p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Oscar Pistorius in court</em></p>
<p>Now, Hougaard has opened up about how he was put in the middle of the media inquest in 2013 due to reports that claimed a text he sent was the catalyst of the murder.</p>
<p>Hougaard told <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-6967451/Francois-Hougaard-business-tattoos-death-former-girlfriend.html" target="_blank"><em>The Daily Mail</em></a>: </p>
<p>“Reeva and I dated for quite a while.</p>
<p>“One of my best mates phoned me at seven o’clock when I was playing golf to tell me what had happened. He was the first to get to the house. It’s a shock when you hear something like that, isn’t it? It’s tough.</p>
<p>“Everyone was saying I sent Reeva a message and that’s why he shot her. I had nothing to do with her any more but it’s all people were asking me about. Mentally, that was a really tough thing to go through.”</p>
<p>Hougaard, 31, was involved in the lengthy court case and shared how he stopped the mental pressure from impacting his performance as a rugby player.</p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Francois Hougaard</em></p>
<p>“It was tough because rugby is 80 per cent mental. If you’re not mentally where you need to be, then you’re not going to play well,” he said.</p>
<p>“I went to see a psychologist to talk about it. That taught me to deal with negative situations. That taught me to turn things into positive fuel and not to sulk.</p>
<p>“When you’re young, you might wake up with a sore shoulder and think, ‘Ah, I’m not really keen for training.’ Once something really seriously bad happens, it just adds some perspective. You don’t sulk about getting dropped or a niggle. It makes you appreciate what you’ve got.”</p>
