Big city, big impact for Maties ace

Josh Strauss, one of the finds of the Lions’ successful Currie Cup run this season, was almost lost to South African rugby earlier this year.

The energetic former Maties loose forward, who has featured prominently in the Johannesburg-based team’s five-match winning streak, told varsitycup.co.za that he was considering some club offers in France before he joined the Lions.

Now, like the rest of the Lions, he is flourishing under the tutelage of former All Black coach John Mitchell – who has been lured away from the Western Force to take up a permanent position at the province.

A born and bred Capetonian, the 24-year-old had a previous stint in France, a season of Currie Cup with the Boland Cavaliers and a successful 2010 Varsity Cup season with the University of Stellenbosch.

Yet, the offers were not exactly flooding in. In fact, there were no local offers at all.

“After the Varsity Cup, I was playing in the club league for Maties,” Strauss told varsitycup.co.za.

“My agent was looking around for some teams for me and I was looking at moving to France,” he said. “Then I got the call, after John Mitchell had a look at my DVD, and he invited me to come to Johannesburg for a trial week.”

His initial trial was about seven weeks ago. Mitchell and his coaching staff analysed Strauss and then put him on a two-week fitness crash-course in order to prepare ready for the physical demands of Currie Cup rugby.

The rest, as they say, is history.

After a few barn-storming games off the replacements bench, Strauss has impressed in the starting XV, too. However, the modest loose forward was not about to blow his own trumpet.

“There’s been a few injuries and some of us younger guys got a break,” he said of his run, adding: “You have to use those opportunities.”

Strauss’s career – till now – had struggled to get off the ground, even though his rugby pedigree at school suggested a bright future.

Born in Bellville, near Cape Town, and having lived in Kuilsriver, he first went to Paarl Boys’ High and then followed his brother to Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch. He joined Alan Zondagh’s Academy (in Riebeeck West) for two years after school and then went to France for about a year.

Strauss returned to the Western Cape in 2008 and took up a contract with the Boland Cavaliers, where he had a season of Currie Cup rugby.

However, a serious knee injury in a pre-season match sidelined him for the entire 2009 season.

Ironically, he suffered that injury in a warm-up match against Maties – the very team he starred for in this year’s successful Varsity Cup campaign, the Men from Stellenbosch picking up a third successive title.

Asked why he had considered France, he said it was because his prospects in South Africa were not looking good. He explained: “There were a few clubs in France that showed interest in getting me over for trials. [But] then, when the Lions’ offer came, my agent said he felt that was the best move for me.”

And he can thank his agent for that good advice, as his arrival in Johannesburg has coincided with the revival of a Lions team which, frankly, was the laughing stock of southern hemisphere rugby after a record 13-match losing streak in this year’s Super 14.

Of course, their 2010 Currie Cup campaign did not start off any better.

However, after losing four of their first five Currie Cup matches this year (including being ‘nilled’ by WP in Cape Town), the Lions have now won five on the trot and have moved ahead of the defending champion Blue Bulls into fourth place on the standings.

“The team as a whole is doing great,” said Strauss – again refusing to take any credit himself.

“It takes a lot of hard work and the coach has a specific plan for every player. Everybody have bought into his plans and we are doing great as a unit,” he added.

Asked about the difference between Varsity Cup and Currie Cup rugby, Strauss admitted that it was a big step up. However, he believes that the Varsity Cup is a good breeding ground for younger players with ambition.

“Just look at the Maties team – we had injuries this season, but the coach was able to draw players from the lowers teams… Of course, you would then think that the team would take a dip [with the new guys], but those guys performed just as well as the players who were injured.

“There is just so much talent available,” he added, “it [the Varsity Cup] really is a great platform for unions to look at for talent.”

Strauss felt the tempo of the game in the Currie Cup was very different. He added: “You have to be very fit. But the Varsity Cup is not too far behind.

“It is obviously a lot of younger guys, which means it may be a touch down in terms of the physical exchanges. But the guys can make the step up. I was one of the older guys in the Varsity Cup this year and there were some really tough guys in the [2010] Varsity Cup.”

His Varsity Cup experience – and success – aside, there is no disguising how happy Strauss is at the Lions at the moment.

As one would expect, he also had plenty praise for the team’s Kiwi coach, John Mitchell – a man who has almost single-handedly turned around the Lions’ fortunes.

“He is an outstanding coach,” Strauss enthused, adding: “He even helped me out with personal issues… before I’d even signed my contract.

“Every week he will chat to the players and make sure everything is okay,” continued Strauss. “He ensures that you focus just on the rugby and there are no distractions or sideshows.”

Then there is the exciting brand of rugby the Lions play.

Said Strauss: “Everybody has bought into what the coach wants.

“Everybody likes to play an expansive game, but we also work hard to ensure our fitness is right up there and ensure that our structures are in place. And, because we are all buying into it, it is working out.”

By Jan de Koning