RNZ reports the Springbok hooker took over the captaincy of the side this year, but says he informed new coach Allister Coetzee of his plan to retire before being handed the role.
The plan was for me to serve and lead a team in transition as well as I can and take things week by week, but back then I already told him that I was thinking of retiring at the end of the season," Strauss said in a statement from the South African Rugby Union.
