[ad_1]
Josh Strauss (Getty Images)
- Former Scotland No. 8 Josh Strauss says he believes rugby unions should be privately owned.
- This comes after a possible move to the Western Province and the Stormers failed.
- Strauss adds that he has a hard time understanding why WP Rugby is reluctant to accept a deal with a foreign investor.
Former Scotland No 8 Josh strauss says he believes rugby unions should be privately owned.
The 34-year-old, who played 24 Tests for Scotland between 2015 and 2019, returned to South Africa earlier in the year where he signed a contract with the Bulls.
However, he was one of the players released by the Bulls when Jake White arrived as rugby director during the Covid-19 lockdown.
In an interview with Sport24, Strauss revealed that he was close to signing a deal with the Stormers, but it fell through due to financial constraints.
From a financial perspective, Strauss says the union would be better off if it were privately owned, and he believes that should be the case for all unions.
“I trained for free with the Stormers for a month during Super Rugby Unlocked and originally a contract was discussed. I started my career with Boland and it would have been special to join. However, it was just one of those situations where all that could come out. bad for me (in terms of winning a gaming contract).
“The Springboks were supposed to play in the Rugby Championship and that’s when WP Rugby contacted me and said they were going to hire me. As we know, that didn’t happen, but John Dobson (Stormers and WP coach) asked me to stay because he still wanted to hold me in some way.
“Then it all came down to the equity deal happening (which has yet to be agreed) and it all took too long to win a gambling contract … I’ve always firmly believed that a club should be privately owned. I think the unions South African rugby players could be so much stronger if they were all privately owned, “he said.
Strauss said he found it strange that WP Rugby was apparently reluctant to accept help from a foreign investor.
“I’m not that much aware of what’s happening off the field at WP. However, I heard things have been boycotted and now it’s a back and forth. I don’t have the financial statements in front of me, but reading between the lines, no I think things are going very well from a financial point of view for the union.
“I really don’t see why they wouldn’t accept the investment deal. WP is a great union and Cape Town is a beautiful city. It should be one of the best places in the world to play rugby, but for it to work you need the financial aspect be correct. “
Meanwhile, Strauss added that he enjoyed his time with the Bulls and did not harbor any grudges toward the Pretoria franchise.
“I loved my time with the Bulls and would probably classify it as one of my favorite moments playing rugby. Pote Human (then Bulls coach) made my time at the Bulls exceptional. It’s probably a little cheesy to say, but I I fell in love with him from day one, I really enjoyed him and he felt like a father figure to me.
“I was lucky enough to be in the leadership group and I saw how he cared. He tried to take care of each player and sometimes to his own detriment because he cannot keep everyone happy. I have great respect for the road.” He treated me personally … It is a blanket statement to say that it should be family first. As a senior player, it makes sense to me to be family first and I think you have to get it right on that side. Most of the players have an emotional bond with their family and if you are happy in that sense you will be happier in general and, in my opinion, that will be seen on a rugby field. I didn’t know that Duane Vermeulen had been living in the hotel next door to Loftus and has barely been able to see his wife and kids, so I left Pretoria.
“To be fair, I wasn’t quite aware of what was going on when Jake White came in. There was talk in the press that players would be cut left, right and center. There was the stress of thinking, ‘What? Am I one of the players to cut myself? I had just arrived and, although fortunately I was not one of the players who were in the cut at the end, the dynamics of being able to go home often changed.
“I have no bad feelings or ill will towards anyone in the Bulls and the decision was based on wanting to spend more time with my family. The team has played very well under White’s orders and all the credit to them as they deservedly won the Super Rugby Unlocked “.
READ | Josh Strauss Full Q&A Interview with Sport24
– Compiled by Sport24 staff
