Biography
Born in the town of Upington, Cape Province (now Northern Cape), Strauss attended the University of Stellenbosch, where he obtained his law degree in 1990. He made his senior provincial debut for Western Province in 1986 against North Eastern Cape and scored a try on debut.[2] At the end of the 1986 provincial season he formed the Western Province back row with Gert Smal and Deon Lotter, that played a major role in Western Province's Currie Cup victory.[3]
Strauss made his test debut for the Springboks during the 1992 tour of Britain and France, as Number 8 against France at the Stade de Gerland in Lyon. He went on to win 15 caps for the Springboks between 1992 and 1994, scoring 4 tries and captaining them on one occasion.[4] He also made a record 156 appearances for Western Province during the team's golden period before he moved to Australia.
In Australia he played two seasons of rugby league with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks before switching back to rugby union for New South Wales. He was selected for Australia a total of 11 times, scoring a hat trick against Ireland on his debut. All but two of his caps were from the bench. He did make a capable replacement for Toutai Kefu in the 1999 World Cup Quarter Final in Cardiff when the former was banned but it turned out to be his last cap.
Strauss returned home to South Africa and settled with his family.
Rugby union test history
 South Africa
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Opposition | Result (SA 1st) | Position | Tries | Date | Venue |
| 1. |  France |
20–15 | Number 8 | 17 October 1992 | Stade de Gerland, Lyon | |
| 2. | France |
16–29 | Number 8 | 24 October 1992 | Parc des Princes, Paris | |
| 3. |  England |
16–33 | Flank | 1 | 14 November 1992 | Twickenham, London |
| 4. | France |
20–20 | Flank | 26 June 1993 | Kings Park Stadium, Durban | |
| 5. | France |
17–18 | Number 8 | 3 July 1993 | Ellis Park, Johannesburg | |
| 6. |  Australia |
19–12 | Number 8 | 31 July 1993 | Sydney Football Stadium (SFG), Sydney | |
| 7. | Australia |
20–28 | Number 8 | 14 August 1993 | Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane | |
| 8. | Australia |
12–19 | Number 8 | 21 August 1993 | Sydney Football Stadium (SFG), Sydney | |
| 9. |  Argentina |
29–26 | Number 8 | 6 November 1993 | Ferrocarril Oeste Stadium, Buenos Aires | |
| 10. | Argentina |
52–23 | Number 8 | 2 | 13 November 1993 | Ferrocarril Oeste Stadium, Buenos Aires |
| 11. | England |
15–32 | Number 8 | 4 June 1994 | Loftus Versveld, Pretoria | |
| 12. |  New Zealand |
14–22 | Flank (c) | 9 July 1994 | Carisbrook, Dunedin | |
| 13. | New Zealand |
9–13 | Flank | 23 July 1994 | Athletic Park, Wellington | |
| 14. | Argentina |
42–22 | Number 8 | 1 | 8 October 1994 | Boet Erasmus, Port Elizabeth |
| 15. | Argentina |
46–26 | Number 8 | 15 October 1994 | Ellis Park, Johannesburg | |
| Australia
| ||||||
| No. | Opposition | Result (Aus 1st) | Position | Tries | Date | Venue |
| 1. |  Ireland |
46–11 | Substitute | 3 | 12 June 1999 | Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane |
| 2. | Ireland |
32–26 | Substitute | 19 June 1999 | Subiaco Oval, Perth | |
| 3. | England |
16–33 | Substitute | 26 June 1999 | Stadium Australia, Sydney | |
| 4. | South Africa |
32–6 | Substitute | 17 July 1999 | Lang Park, Brisbane | |
| 5. | New Zealand |
15–34 | Number 8 | 24 July 1999 | Eden Park, Auckland | |
| 6. | South Africa |
9–10 | Substitute | 14 August 1999 | Newlands, Cape Town | |
| 7. | New Zealand |
28–7 | Substitute | 28 August 1999 | Stadium Australia, Sydney | |
| 8. |  Romania |
57–9 | Substitute | 3 October 1999 | Ravenhill Stadium, Belfast | |
| 9. | Ireland |
23–3 | Substitute | 10 October 1999 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin | |
| 10. |  United States |
55–19 | Flank | 1 | 14 October 1999 | Thomond Park, Limerick |
| 11. |  Wales |
24–9 | Number 8 | 14 October 1999 | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | |