Free State Cheetahs After playing for the Free State Under-20 side in 2003, he was included in the senior side for the
2004 Vodacom Cup competition and made his debut for them in a match against the . He made his
Currie Cup debut for the team later in
2004 against the . He remained with the
Bloemfontein-based side until the end of the 2005 season, before moving to
Durban to join the .
Sharks He made his
Super Rugby debut in the ', starting in opening match of the
2006 Super 14 season against the . He quickly established himself as a regular, starting twelve of the Sharks' matches during the season. He represented the teams at all levels – playing for the at
Super Rugby level in 2006,
2008 and
2009, domestically for the in the
Currie Cup between
2006 and
2010 and for the in the
2007 and
2008 Vodacom Cup competitions, making in excess of one hundred appearances for the team at those various levels.
Return to the Cheetahs In August 2010, Strauss signed a deal with the Cheetahs for the
2011 Super 15 season, due to the departure of Cheetahs centre
Meyer Bosman who joined the Sharks the next season. In 2011 and 2012 Strauss made almost 40 appearances for the Cheetahs in
Super Rugby and the
Currie Cup and also played with his cousin
Adriaan Strauss during this time.
Kings He joined the for the
2013 Super Rugby season. He made his Kings debut in their first-ever
Super Rugby match in
2013, a 22–10 victory over Australian side the . He started thirteen of their sixteen matches during the season – most of them as captain following an injury to regular captain
Luke Watson. However, Strauss broke his hand towards the end of the campaign and missed the
2013 Super Rugby promotion/relegation play-offs, which saw the gain entry into the
2014 Super Rugby season at the Kings' expense. He also missed the entire
2013 Currie Cup First Division season with the same injury.
Edinburgh He signed for Scottish side
Edinburgh Rugby at the start of 2014, tying him to the club until 2016. His first points for the club came during a
Pro12 encounter with
Cardiff Blues the following November.
Representative rugby In November 2010, after an injury to stand-in full-back and centre
Zane Kirchner, Strauss received a call-up to play for the
Springboks to face a star-studded
Barbarians side at
Twickenham in a non-test match. Although it was a non-test match, this thus far, is his only appearance for the national team. At youth level, he played for the South Africa Under-21 side, playing two matches for them in the 2004
Under 21 Rugby World Championship. He also represented the
South Africa Sevens side during the
2006–07 IRB Sevens World Series competition. ==Personal life==