Shades of green fade into Grey
It all happened in a split second. None of the 51,000-plus people in the stadium noticed it at the time and Strauss himself undoubtedly performed the act subconsciously as the stadium and adrenalin emptied in sync.
It was only later that his cousin Adriaan spoke of the brief moment when the hookers embraced and performed the ‘Grey Handshake’, a tradition that stretches back nearly 100 years. For a moment, they were two kids back home on the fields of Bloemfontein’s famous rugby academy.
“We are good friends,” said the Bok. “He is an awesome guy.”
All week Springboks had been asked about the prospects of meeting their countryman on his debut for an adopted country. They responded with unfailing respect and then the new boy ended up with a crimson-coloured chin after the first ruck.
“He did quite well,” said Adriaan. “Especially in the first half when they were dominating. Unfortunately for him in the second half we stepped up a bit and maybe he was a bit more quiet but I think he had a great first Test.
“We get two jerseys [for each game] so we did swap one. I will keep the other one because we are passionate about the teams we play for but this counts special for us. We just had a minute or two after. I am very proud of him.”
Two months separate the cousins. Little else.
Adriaan arrived into the world in November, 1985. Richardt followed in the first month of 1986 and, though they didn’t live close by, their bond was sealed when they were enrolled in Grey College where their sporting careers were shaped like so many before.
During their schooldays, the Strauss boys saw each other on a daily basis. Then they graduated — Adriaan to a contract with the Bulls and Richardt to another with the Cheetahs — and butted heads a handful of times before the younger left for Europe.
Leinster’s Strauss spoke last week of the leap of faith that involved but, from a rugby point of view, he felt there was little choice with John Smit, Bismarck Du Plessis, Chiliboy Ralepelle and Adriaan all ahead of him in the queue for a Bok jersey. A three-week apprenticeship in Ireland, though far from straightforward, seemed like a better option and his cousin believes the former flanker remains a loss to the South African set-up.
“Definitely. He is a quality player and he will always be a loss to South African rugby. The Irish are very lucky to have him. He is an excellent player and a team man and they will enjoy him a lot as a person as well.
“I must say that the day he left I knew that he would play for Ireland one day. He is a hard worker and he left with one thing in mind and that was to play international rugby.
“He deservedly played his first Test here. It was a long time coming.”
For 40 minutes it looked as though the exiled Strauss would get to tick every box on his big night. Bragging rights were just one half of rugby football away. Instead, it was Adriaan, South Africa’s 800th Springbok and a current vice-captain, who claimed the laurels in this latest of familial battles.
“We struggle if we don’t play within our own game plan for stretches and in the first half we did exactly what we didn’t want to do. We deviated a lot from our game plan and we gave away a lot of turnovers and penalties as well.
“We wanted to hold on to the ball in the right areas of the field but we gave them a lot of opportunities to run at us and be physical towards us so I am really proud of the guys that we were able to change it.”
For Adriaan it is on to Edinburgh this week. For Richardt it is back to Carton House and on to Limerick. Separated once again by countless miles but they will always have Grey. And now Dublin, too.
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