Strauss well aware of risks of pausing to enjoy view from top

Senior Sports Writer

Saturday 23 March 2013

The memory of a Shark attack suffered in his native South Africa is enough to ensure there is no danger of Josh Strauss taking anything for granted just because all has been going swimmingly in his new homeland in recent weeks.

Josh Strauss has been a key player in Glasgow's surge to the top of the RaboDirect Pro12, featuring in every one of a record five-match winning run which also brought the South African's first league try since joining the club. Picture: Jeff Holmes/SNS

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Kevin Ferrie

The No.8, who joined Glasgow Warriors in September, has played a significant part in helping the club reach the summit of the RaboDirect Pro12. Having registered his first Pro12 try during the rout of Dragons at Newport, he was also man of the match in the win which took them to top spot three weeks ago. That result was a record-breaking fifth successive bonus-point win, with Strauss having featured in every game during that run.

Unlike most of his team-mates, though, Strauss has experience of being in a table-topping position at this stage of the season and knows the dangers."Every team chases the side that is top of the log," the 26-year-old said ahead of tonight's match against third-place Leinster in Dublin. "It was the same when we played Ulster and they were top, you single it out as a very, very big game."You know that is coming and it is exciting because you know that every team is going to be at its best against your and that you have to be at your best. Knowing that you have to be at your best gives the guys an extra edge in having that focus."I was fortunate enough to play with the Golden Lions when we won the Currie Cup, the big domestic competition in South Africa. We were unbeaten for most of the season but a little bit of complacency set in during the latter stages and we took quite a beating by the Natal Sharks."I have been in this position and have experienced dropping off and taking it easy. From my perspective, it shows the need to keep the focus up."Until that 53-9 thrashing in Durban in the final match before the 2011 Currie Cup play-offs, the Johannesburg-based side, under Strauss's captaincy, had won every previous league game, averaging four tries per match to that point. The parallels, then, are clear.While he has only been at Warriors for a matter of months this bear of a man – who has declared his desire to follow in the footsteps of Edinburgh's Tim Visser by qualifying to play for Scotland through the three-year residency rule, knows he will be far from alone in driving the message that there can be no let-up."The leader group in the team, the more experienced players, have that set into the guys minds and they know that focus has to be there," the 6ft 5in, 18st-plus powerhouse said."It is not an official thing, but you try to help out where you can, give your experience to younger players through talking to them. You try to help out but Al [Kellock] is a great captain, and the guys will follow him really well. He is really good and I expect him to be really good at the weekend. The guys will be really focused."Gregor Townsend, the head coach, claimed this week that Glasgow's priority remains simply to reach the play-offs, but the reality is that, with a squad that has been hugely strengthened since they achieved that feat for the second time in three years last season, it would be a spectacular failure if they did not do so again.In spite of offering that warning about being there to be shot at, Strauss indicated the players know they must try to take advantage of the position they have put themselves in, rather than settling for merely reaching the semi-finals. "Getting to the top of the table was really exciting and changed our perspective on things," he said. "It gives you that drive when you really feel you have a chance to finish there."We will be pushing really hard. It is great to have the internationalists back to complement the rest of the guys and it gives the coaches great selection depth. Hopefully we can keep it going because the goal is obviously to win the competition."We have worked really hard this week. You can't, just because you are top, drop off at training. The focus has been there and the guys have been really sharp, which gives you an idea of where the mindset is at. Being top is tough because you have to think differently from chasing, but I think the guys are up for it."Townsend has said this is the strongest squad he has had to select from during a season in which he has been able to call upon more than 50 players, and Glasgow have a major opportunity to put clear daylight between themselves and the Irish side.The European champions have also been in impressive league form, dropping just two from a maximum of 30 points available in their last six matches. That said, they are still without a number of leading players due to Ireland's protocols relating to resting players after international duty.For Glasgow, the run-in is likely to present rather different challenges to those of the past two months with their next four matches all against play-off contenders. Then will come an always dangerous trip to Connacht on the final weekend.Strauss said Warriors know they need to reach another level. "We are very aware of that, especially since we are playing a lot of the really good teams in the competition, the top-of-the- table sides," he said."Leinster have been brilliant all the last few years, particularly in the European Cup, so going there is going to be hard. I think I read they are unbeaten this season at home in the Rabo, which shows how good they are. For us to keep our form going, we really have to focus this week. It could be a big changing point in the season if we get this win this weekend."

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Strauss well aware of risks of pausing to enjoy view from top

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