Former Bok flyhalf Derick Hougaard remains in critical condition

Derick Hougaard's condition remains critical as the former Springbok flyhalf fights for his life in a Pretoria hospital.

It was reported over the weekend that Hougaard had been in a coma for the past week, reportedly with inflammation in his lungs.

Netwerk24 reported late on Sunday that Hougaard, 40, was "gravely ill" and that he had "serious infection in his lungs".

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Known affectionately as the 'Liefling of Loftus', Hougaard played over 100 games for the Bulls between 2002 and 2008 before stints with Leicester Tigers and Saracens in England. 

He also played eight Test matches for the Springboks and was part of the 2003 World Cup side that progressed to the quarter-finals of that year's showpiece. 

Rapport newspaper reported on Sunday that Hougaard had been given a 50% chance of waking from his coma.

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

"He is in the intensive care unit where only one person can visit him at a time, so it is a very difficult situation.

"It is obviously traumatic for everyone who goes to visit him to see him with so many pipes in his body and to know that he is fighting for his life."