Cape Town - Former Springbok scrumhalf Francois Hougaard still harbours ambitions of a Test recall and says getting dropped in 2017 was the lowest point in his career.

Hougaard called time on his international career in 2018 but has told Sport24 in an exclusive interview that he would not turn down a recall.

"I would definitely like to still play for Springboks and add to my 46 Test caps," Hougaard said.

"If I am good enough and get selected it would be great because playing for South Africa is the most amazing privilege and winning a World Cup is the ultimate dream. I want to be there on merit and I spoke to Rassie Erasmus (Bok coach) a while ago before the end-of-year tour to the UK..." the 31-year-old added.

Hougaard, who has been on the books of English club Worcester Warriors since 2016, added that he left the Bok camp in 2017 on a sour note when then-coach Allister Coetzee questioned his abilities in the media.

"In terms of my lowest low, getting dropped from the Springboks in 2017 and finding out that the coach (Coetzee) said that I didn't have the technical abilities to play Test rugby and by definition I wasn't good enough, was tough to take.

"He should rather have spoken to me in person and given me a reason instead of embarrassing me on media platforms. If you drop me and tell me the reason that's perfectly fine and I accept that. I have no problem when a coach doesn't pick me but tells me why he didn't face to face. That didn't happen (at the Boks under Coetzee) but I decided to use it (the rejection) as a positive and worked even harder for Worcester."

READ Francois Hougaard full Q&A interview with Sport24