Bulls' new game plan suits Strauss
The 30-year-old Strauss, with over 50 Test caps for the Boks to his credit, captained the Cheetahs with great success, before he returned to Pretoria last year.
He made eight Super Rugby appearances for the Bulls before moving to Bloemfontein in 2007.
This year Strauss was appointed the full-time captain for the Pretoria-based franchise – a task made much more difficult through injury-enforced losses of players like Handré Pollard (the entire season) and Pieter Labuschagne (eight weeks).
Strauss, in an interview with rugby365 ahead of Saturday's pre-season outing against the Lions in Polokwane, said the captaincy role will not result in a change to his approach.
"I will play my normal game," he said, adding that he enjoys the responsibility.
"It usually brings out the best in my game and I am very excited about the season.
"I am excited about the way we want to play, because it suits my style very well."
There is also a new coach in Nollis Marais, who has repeatedly stated that he want to change the mindset of the Bulls players, with the team often accused of being too structured.
"It is a new era, with lots of challenges," Strauss told rugby365, adding: "But I am looking forward to it."
The Bulls captain said these pre-season matches are important, because you need to test – in a match situation – the things that you have worked on in training.
"You always want to win, no matter what game it is, you are always competitive at this level," Strauss said of their encounter with the Lions on Saturday.
"However, the result is meaningless once the competition starts.
"The most important aspect is to see where we are at, wether our structures and execution come together."
He described the encounter with the ions as an "important game", but added that their focus is on themselves and where they are in their build-up.
"You won't show your entire hand, but we do want to test our structures.
"However, the result is not the alpha and the omega," he said adding that there are always work to be done.
"We'll use the last week or two to fine-tune," he said of their season-opener against the Stormers at Newlands on February 27.
"There are aspects of the game that we implemented and made a huge step up against the Cheetahs."
He said the expanded Super Rugby season also won't change the Bulls' approach.
"We are only looking at the next opponent," Strauss said, adding: "We learnt that lesson the last year or two with the Springboks and in Super Rugby – anything can happen on the day.
"If you look to far ahead you can learn some expensive lessons.
"Injuries can result in changes to the team, there could a be a loss of form or rotation – there is no value in looking too far ahead."
By Jan de Koning
@King365ed
@rugby365com
