VIDEO: The rare double that thrusted the 'bearded wonder' into the limelight

Joshua Zac Strauss calls himself a ‘glorified high school coach’, looking mostly after the junior teams at the South African College institution in Cape Town’s southern suburbs.

His official ‘title’ is Head of Junior Rugby at the school, better known as SACS.

However, it is his involvement with the Varsity Cup-winning University of Cape Town team The Ikey Tigers this year that thrusted the ‘bearded wonder’ back into the limelight.

Strauss, still only 38, was approached by former Ikeys coach Tom Dawson-Squibb to assist at the university.

With limited financial and other resources, UCT adroitly recruited mentors from the southern suburbs schools, opening the pathway from schools to university as coaches.

They have done a great job by investing in coaching from the schools, according to Strauss.

“I was with Tom [Dawson-Squibb] for two years,” he told @rugby365com, adding: “We made two [Varsity Cup] finals in succession and lost both.

“Flecky [former Stormers coach and retired Springbok Robbie Fleck] took over [the Tigers] this year.

“He was involved before, but more in a consulting capacity.

“The advantage was that we were able to retain a large number of our senior players in an environment where there is a constant and huge turnover rate.”

With Fleck in charge – supported by his backroom staff – UCT ended an 11-year drought when the Ikey Tigers spoiled the Maties’ 150th anniversary party at Danie Craven Stadium with a 44-21 win in the Final in front of a packed Danie Craven stadium in Stellenbosch.

And that gifted Strauss, a man with 15 Scotland internationals and 200-plus first-class games, a rare double – winning the Varsity Cup as both player and coach.

(WATCH as @king365ed sat down for an exclusive one-on-one with former Lions captain and Scotland international Josh Strauss, who talks about his involvement with the Varsity Cup-winning @ikeytigers team…..)

“In 2010, I won the Varsity Cup with Maties as a player, against UCT,” he told @rugby365com.

“Nic Groom and I played against each other [in 2010] and now we coached together,” he said of the 2025 Varsity Cup-winning effort by the Tigers.

Although Strauss could not confirm it, it is believed that Strauss, Groom and scrum coach Joel Carew are the first to achieve the Varsity Cup player-and-coach double.

“It will be cool if it is true,” Strauss said.

Speaking about winning with both Maties and Ikeys was like ‘switching allegiances’ between countries, Strauss quipped.

“It just happened to me,” he said, adding: “I never, initially, thought about playing for Scotland.

“I was involved in two Bok camps at the time, and was cut from the third one. I saw the writing on the wall and was ready to go overseas,” he said about moving to Scotland.

“It was a bit of a roller coaster, but I was happy to do it.

“It was able to live my dream of playing international rugby, although my dream, from age six, was to play for the Springboks.

“I cherish having played for Scotland.

“The Scots are great people.

“They used to joke about my accent, but I was still part of the team.”

Returning his thoughts to the Varsity Cup, the tournament format may have changed over the years, but it remains a great pathway for players to higher honours.

Now, more players are being signed directly out of school, but there is still room for the ‘late bloomers’, according to Strauss.

“Four or five of the [UCT] players have now been offered contracts,” he said.

“Some at big unions and some at small unions, but it is an opportunity.

“The success of winning also helps.

“In 2010, when Maties won it, I got the opportunity to go to the Lions.”

Strauss, before his move to Glasgow Warriors in 2012, played for the Boland Cavaliers, Maties and captained the Lions in Super Rugby.

He quickly became a regular in the Warriors’ side, captaining them frequently, and was an integral part of their 2014–2015 Pro12 title triumph.

He was also named in the Pro12 Dream Team at the end of the 2014/15 season.

Strauss became eligible to play for Scotland in September 2015 and was named in the 31-man squad for the World Cup.

He made his much-anticipated debut from the bench in the team’s opening match against Japan and featured in 14 more Tests.

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