Josh Strauss (born 23 October 1986) is a South African-born

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player who currently plays for Israeli side

Tel Aviv Heat The Tel Aviv Heat () is the first professional Israeli rugby union team. Based in Tel Aviv, the team competes annually in the Eastern Conference of the Rugby Europe Super Cup, alongside RC Batumi and The Black Lion of Georgia as well as the Ro ...

. He previously played for

Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...

and the

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine *Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports * Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

. His regular playing position is

flanker Flanker may refer to: * Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one * Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league) * ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...

or number 8.

Career

Strauss played for the

Boland Cavaliers The Boland Cavaliers (Boland Kavaliers in Afrikaans), are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. They draw players from the Cape Winelands and West Coast districts of Western Cape Province, and ...

and Maties. He has captained the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

and the

Golden Lions The Golden Lions (currently known as the Sigma Golden Lions for sponsorship reasons) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Johannesburg who compete in the annual Currie Cup and Rugby Challenge. The team is governed by the ...

in the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

. On 11 September 2012 Strauss signed for

on a three-year deal. 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 named in the Pro12 Dream Team at the end of the 2014/15 season. Strauss - like all professional players in Scotland - was assigned to play for amateur clubs each season when not in use with

. After signing for Glasgow in 2012 he was assigned to

Dundee HSFP Dundee HSFP is a former rugby union team that played their home games at the Mayfield Playing Fields, Dundee, Scotland. The club disbanded in 2021. The team was founded in 1880 by former pupils of the High School of Dundee. The men's side p ...

in the Pro-Player draft. He was assigned to

Aberdeen GSFP Aberdeen Grammar School FP RFC, also known as Aberdeen Grammar, are an amateur rugby union club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. They currently compete in the . The club plays its home games at Rubislaw in the city's west end. Honours *Scottish N ...

in the

pro-player draft of 2013-14. In 2014-15 he was assigned to Stirling County. In 2016-17 season he was assigned to

Currie Currie ( gd, Currach, IPA: �kʰuːᵲəx is a village and suburb on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated south west of the city centre. Formerly within the County of Midlothian, it now falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edi ...

. Strauss left

in the summer of 2017. On 28 February 2017, Strauss signed a three-year contract with

Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is th ...

club

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the ...

prior to the 2017-18 season. He then moved to

Stade Francais Stade (), officially the Hanseatic City of Stade (german: Hansestadt Stade, nds, Hansestadt Stood) is a city in Lower Saxony in northern Germany. First mentioned in records in 934, it is the seat of the district () which bears its name. It is l ...

before signing for the

. He signed for

in 2021.

International career

Strauss became eligible to play for

in September 2015, and was named in the 31-man squad for the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...

. He made his much-anticipated debut from the bench in the team's opening match victory over Japan.

References

External links

*
Lions profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strauss, Josh 1986 births Living people Aberdeen GSFP RFC players Afrikaner people Alumni of Paul Roos Gymnasium Boland Cavaliers players Bulls (rugby union) players Currie RFC players Dundee HSFP players Expatriate rugby union players in France Expatriate rugby union players in Scotland Glasgow Warriors players Golden Lions players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Oyonnax Rugby players Rugby union players from Bellville, South Africa Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Sale Sharks players Scotland international rugby union players South African expatriate rugby union players South African expatriate sportspeople in France South African expatriate sportspeople in the United Kingdom South African rugby union players Stade Français players Stellenbosch University alumni Stirling County RFC players Tel Aviv Heat players