Tiaan Strauss

Christiaan Petrus 'Tiaan' Strauss, (born 28 June 1965) is a former rugby union and rugby league footballer who represented both South Africa and Australia at international level in rugby union and also played top-level domestic rugby league in Australia. He won the 1999 Rugby World Cup with Australia and the Currie Cup with Western Province.

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. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 46–11 Substitute 3 12 June 1999 Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane 2. Ireland 32–26 Substitute 19 June 1999 Subiaco Oval, Perth 3. 22–15 Substitute 26 June 1999 Stadium Australia, Sydney 4. 32–6 Substitute 17 July 1999 Lang Park, Brisbane 5. 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. 57–9 Substitute 3 October 1999 Ravenhill Stadium, Belfast 9. Ireland 23–3 Substitute 10 October 1999 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 10. 55–19 Flank 1 14 October 1999 Thomond Park, Limerick 11. 24–9 Number 8 14 October 1999 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Honours

Currie Cup: Winner (with Western Province) 1986, 1989 (shared). Finalist 1995 World Cup: Winner (with Wallabies) 1999