Josh Strauss of the Bulls offloads during the Super Rugby match between DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls at DHL Newlands on February 08, 2020 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
Despite professional sport’s multi-faceted nature – all the economic, societal, athletic and personal factors that influences career decisions of players – it sometimes still remains as easy as a coach with a vision to recruit a high-profile individual.
Josh Strauss hardly denies that he was still doubtful about returning to South Africa.
“I truly was in two minds. I had a few offers from overseas to stay. There was a lot of things I felt I needed to consider,” he tells The Citizen.
It’s not like the 33-year-old Scottish loose forward urgently needed employment.
ALSO READ: No regrets for Josh Strauss despite Lions’ massive revival
He still had 12 months to run on a three-year contract with English giants Sale Sharks, but his influence was waning as the club went on a massive, South African-based shopping spree – notably recruiting the Du Preez twins, Jean-Luc and Dan.
Those two bulldozers would be in direct competition with Strauss.
Then came one Skype interview with Bulls coach Pote Human.
“I phoned my wife immediately after that and told her we’re off to Pretoria.”
Tami-Lee Strauss was arguably more excited than anyone in the household, she was the one who was absolutely certain about coming home after a whirlwind journey that started in 2012 when Josh, as Currie Cup-winning skipper, left the Lions after their Super Rugby relegation was confirmed, trekked to Glasgow, qualified to play for Scotland, went across the border to England and, ultimately, experienced World Cup heartache.
“She was very keen, for family reasons. Our kids are at an age now where they are going to school. We had all these things to think about. But here we are,” said Strauss.
And yes, it was all about Human.
“I liked his vision, I liked him as a person, his demeanour, the things he said to me. In rugby, you don’t always get that with coaches and managers. There are so many people in your life you don’t see eye-to-eye with, but this was different. I just liked everything from the start. I just knew Loftus is the place I need to be at this stage of my life,” said Strauss.
The start to life at Loftus has been tough though.
Employed as eighthman, the man from Belville has worked his socks off as a tackler – he averages 11 tackles a game to date – yet the stale nature of the Bulls’ attacking play means there hasn’t been much of those familiar storming runs.
Whether an admittedly untimely bye this week leads to a re-think about the Bulls’ plans with ball-in-hand is moot at the moment, but one would surely believe that Strauss will find his voice as attacker at some stage.
Even if such fancy exploits don’t materialise, he simply wants to add value.
“I’m not going to nail down any specific technical thing that I want to show local fans from my time in Europe. I just think it’s a good thing that our unions are bringing back experienced guys into their setups, and it’s not because I’m biased,” said Strauss.
“Veterans like us don’t bring a specific system back or something. It’s about the small things, experiences you can share. Rugby in Europe is very different. It’s slower. It’s really about giving back anything you can at the moment it’s required.
“I’m under no illusion that I’m a so-called old soul who’s mentoring some younger teammates. And that’s what I enjoy. I enjoy the individual work with people. That’s what I want to do.”
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