SCRUM-HALF Francois Hougaard will be a “target” for opposition teams, admits Worcester Warriors director of rugby Gary Gold.

Hougaard, 28, received some rough treatment in Warriors’ superb 24-18 victory against reigning Aviva Premiership champions Saracens at Sixways.

The South African was felled twice in last Saturday’s match by innocuous challenges from former England centre Brad Barritt and wing Mike Ellery.

Ellery was yellow-carded in the first half by referee Tom Foley after knocking Hougaard to the ground with a late shoulder charge.

Gold said: “When you’ve got a world-class player of Houghi’s ability in the team, opposition teams are going to target him and he was outstanding in leadership terms during the course of the week.

“I thought he played well and by his own admission he will be frustrated by one or two errors he made but he’s got such a strong influence on the squad.”

Hougaard played a starring role in Warriors’ crucial victory over the reigning European champions.

It was Warriors’ first victory against the star-studded London club since a 12-3 triumph at Sixways in November 2012.

Hougaard formed a strong partnership with fly-half Ryan Mills and the duo are expected to combine again in Saturday’s clash against Exeter Chiefs at Sixways (3pm).

“Ryan is predominantly a 12 who is doing a job at 10,” explained Gold.

“I can’t really imagine we are going to be chopping and changing the team too much.

“Ryan works well in combination with Houghi and I don’t see any reason why we should change that.

“Ryan was a general – it was between him and Francois.

“Our objective was not to let Saracens have too many visits in our half because we knew how dangerous they could be.

“Ironically, the first time they got into our 22 they scored. Thanks to superb discipline from Francois and Ryan we were able to play in the right areas of the field.”

He continued: “I am really happy we’ve also got the experience of a Ryan Lamb.

“Tommy Heathcote was injured (back) but you’ve got the experienced head of a Ryan Lamb who can run plays and was on the bench.”

Warriors could have dropped to the bottom of the table last Friday had Bristol toppled Harlequins at Ashton Gate.

However, Gold insisted the squad hadn’t talked about the Bristol match which ended with Warriors’ relegation rivals crashing to a heavy 42-8 defeat.

“There’s a danger of getting caught up in worrying about stuff you can’t control,” said Gold.

“I know it sounds a bit clichéd but it’s a danger because if you are hoping other things go your way, you are probably not focusing on what you need to do.

“We did not even talk about it (Bristol’s game) as a squad or a group. We had a job to do and we knew if we didn’t pitch up we would get a hiding from a very good Saracens team.”