The 34-year-old Strauss had represented Scotland in 24 Tests between 2015 and 2019 before returning to South Africa, where he signed on with the Bulls in 2020.
According to Strauss, the fact his move away from Pretoria coincided with Jake White’s arrival was just that, a coincidence.
‘Most players have an emotional bond to their family and if you are happy in that sense you are going to be happier in general and, my opinion, that will show on a rugby field. I didn’t know that Duane Vermeulen has been living in the hotel next to Loftus and has hardly been able to see his wife and kids. That’s the reason I left Pretoria.’
Upon arriving in the Cape, Strauss starting training with the Stormers and looked set to earn a playing contract with the Western Province Rugby Union, but the deal fell flat due to financial limitations.
‘Originally there was chat about a contract. However, it was just one of those situations where everything that could go wrong for me went wrong.
‘The Springboks were supposed to play in the Rugby Championship and that’s when WP Rugby got in contact and told me they were going to contract me. As we know, that didn’t happen, but John Dobson asked me to stay on because he still wanted to keep me somehow.
‘Then it all came down to the equity deal happening (which is still in the negotiating phase) and it all went on too long to earn a playing contract. I have always been a big believer that a club should be privately owned. I think the South African rugby unions could be a helluva lot stronger if they were all privately owned,’ he added.
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