Strauss to give his all in final home Test

Strauss is hanging up his Test boots at the end of this year and the match against the All Blacks in Durban will be his last for the Springboks on South African soil.

Despite the significance of the match for him, Strauss said he was more focussed on the All Blacks – a team who has won eight of the last 10 meetings between the two sides.   

"It is not emotional for me," Strauss told reporters. "It is all about playing the All Blacks tomorrow [Saturday] – the best in the team in the world, so all the focus and all the energy is in there. There is no time for emotion or reflecting back on the past.

"My personality is quite task-driven – if there is a task at hand that is where the energy goes. 

"The moment you get that release when the final whistle goes then the emotions takes over, but for now there is no time for emotion."

Strauss said he is ready to give his all for his teammates in front of a sold-out Kings Park. 

"Hopefully I will be really excited when the final whistle blows. 

"As a rugby player you love that feeling when you know you left everything out there and that is the satisfaction I would like to have after the game. That I gave it my all," Strauss added.

Retiring from international rugby was a big decision Strauss had to make and it is a decision he does not regret making.

"I have made the right decision. For my own ambition, I would have liked to hang in there for as long as I could. 

"I believe in the long term this is the right decision for the team and I am happy with my decision," he said.

By Warren Fortune, in Durban

@FortuneWarren

@rugby365com