My Life in Rugby: Braam Van Straaten – Former Leeds, Sale, Bulls & South Africa Fly-Half

Rugby and cricket were my passions growing up in Pretoria. Some friends still say I was a far better cricketer than rugby player, but opportunities opened up for me to have a career in rugby so everything else had to be pushed aside.
My first taste of senior rugby came in my early 20s, playing for Northern Transvaal against Eastern Province in 1994. I was moved out wide from centre quite early on due to an injury to our winger. Their Springbok scrum-half Garth Wright peppered me with up-and-unders all day long but I had good hands and didn’t drop a single ball.
I continued to make a good impression and was part of the Currie Cup-winning squad but then I tore my ACL in a training session. It was a really terrible time because I wanted to push on, but at least the World Cup proved a positive distraction and I was fortunate to be at Ellis Park when we defied the odds to beat the All Blacks to win it.
Unfortunately I missed out on the 1999 World Cup, too. After scoring nearly 500 points in Super Rugby I thought I was in with a good chance of making the squad. I’d made a few appearances for the Springboks in the months leading up to the tournament but Nick Mallett decided to take Jannie de Beer. On reflection, it wasn’t a bad decision, was it?
I played two years of international rugby, winning my 21st and final cap against England in 2001. A few games stand out as real highlights. Obviously marking my debut with a 101-0 win against Italy in Durban was a memorable way to begin my international career.
Kicking the team to victory against Australia in Pretoria was another. It was nice to finally get one over on the Wallabies having lost to them three times. Thirdly, beating the All Blacks at Ellis Park was special. We won 46-40 and I converted all five tries and kicked two penalties.
As I thought my Springbok days were coming to an end and I decided to take up an offer to join Leeds midway through the 2001/02 season. The South Africa Rugby Union surprised me by coming up with a contract offer but I’d already given Leeds my word and I wasn’t about to go back on it.
I remember being met off the plane by the Tykes’ team manager, a mad Yorkshireman by the name of John Carey. I couldn’t understand a word he said!
I played some of my best rugby at Leeds. We went from being a bottom to finishing fifth, an incredible achievement from a really hard-working group of guys who had a never-say-die spirit. One game that sticks out in my memory is the time I kicked nine penalties against London Irish.
I’d taken a bang to the head playing against Leicester the week before after Martin Johnson’s knee caught me. But I was passed fit to play and I had one of my best-ever days in front of goal; I simply couldn’t miss. Two of the guys I played with at Leeds are friends of mine for life, Rob Rawlinson and Diego Albanese. They are like brothers to me.
I moved to Sale in 2003 and enjoyed a good start to the season. But then I got a knock to the same knee I’d injured in ’95 and it turned out to be a lot worse than originally thought. So I moved back to South Africa and after five months of rehab I finished my career with Griquas, who beat some of the big boys like the Sharks and Bulls to lift the Vodacom Cup for the first time in their history.
I’m now a kicking coach with Western Force, having previously worked with the Australian national team up to 2013. I own my own company, Kicking Legends, and teach players how to produce the perfect kick through knowing the fundamentals inside and out. I’ve worked with some of the world’s best kickers in my time, but if I had to choose someone to kick a goal if my life depended on it I’d go for Leigh Halfpenny. He’s got a very simple approach.
The only thing that I’d suggest to him is to go for a higher kicking tee. Sometimes the impact of the kick goes into his groin and hip flexor and glute instead of going into his core. If he changes that he will be even more successful.