Nizaam Carr relishes the unique role he plays for a Vodacom Bulls pack that likes to bash the opposition into submission, writes SIMON BORCHARDT in SA Rugby magazine.
Carr is not your typical stampeding Bulls forward. The 31-year-old would rather step an opponent than trample him, and he can pass and kick too.
Fortunately, Carr has a coach who encourages him to play his natural game. After returning from English Premiership club Wasps for a second stint in Pretoria last November, Jake White selected Carr at openside flank for the Bulls’ URC match against the Ospreys at Loftus. White made it clear that he didn’t expect Carr to play like specialist fetcher Marco van Staden, away on Springbok duty, or Marcell Coetzee, on a sabbatical in Japan.
“Nizaam is unbelievable on attack,” White said. “We have a good backline and having Nizaam run in between them is a big skill. He doesn’t have poaching skills, at least not on the level of the likes of Marco and Marcell, but he brings so much in other departments.”
Carr produced a Man of the Match performance in the Bulls’ 43-26 victory. He beat two defenders inside the right touchline to score a try, provided incisive linking play, and made his presence felt at the breakdown.
“I’m very happy,” White said after the game. “Nizaam was very thankful that we gave him the opportunity after the Wasps episode [when the bankrupt club went into administration]. He told us: ‘I’ll repay you guys on the field’. And what better way to do just that with the official award in his first match back.”
Carr was used off the bench in the Bulls’ next six URC matches – as Van Staden, Cyle Brink and Elrigh Louw resumed their successful loose-trio partnership – but started all four of their Champions Cup pool fixtures. He wore the No 6 jersey in the win against Lyon at Loftus and in the away defeat to the Exeter Chiefs, before starting at blindside flank in the home victory against the Chiefs and at No 8 for the away loss to Lyon.
“I’ve told Jake that I always want to make an impact, no matter what position I play or how much game time I get,” says Carr. “Whether it’s five, 40 or 80 minutes, I will always deliver.”
Carr believes he brings something different to a Bulls team that White transformed from Super Rugby strugglers in 2020 to URC finalists last year while sticking to their traditional strengths.
“The Bulls’ game is based on physicality and we’re a big set-piece team that likes to dominate up front,” he says. “Everyone knows that if our forwards struggle on the day, then the whole team usually struggles because our backs like front-foot ball.
“But I think I add another string to the Bulls’ bow. I don’t shy away from the dirty work, getting stuck into the game, and tackling. But I am known for being in the middle or wider channels after third or fourth phases. Teams expect Bulls forwards to run hard and straight, but now you have a forward like me who’s stepping left and right, and our inside backs are putting an attacking kick to where I will be, where there usually aren’t any forwards. I think it’s a good blend.
“Jake said I mustn’t change the way I play because it got me to where I am today,’ he adds. ‘I enjoy my role and the fact I’m the only Bulls forward who plays it. Elrigh, Marco and Cyle could obviously play that role if they wanted to, but they quite enjoy running over people! I like to attack space. My motto has always been ‘attack spaces, not faces’.”
Carr says he adjusts his game according to the number on his back, while incorporating aspects of all three loose-forward positions into his play.
“Marco plays towards the ball and averages four turnovers a game. When I play at 6, I do try to make a turnover or slow the ball down, but I don’t move away from the game I enjoy playing,” he explains. “When I play 7, I try to carry the ball over the advantage line like Cyle and Marcell do, and like Arno Botha did in the past. No 8 is more of a linking role with some lineout work, which Elrigh does well.”
The appointment of White as director of rugby was the main factor in Carr’s decision to join the Bulls during the hard lockdown in 2020 after Wasps had told their players they’d have to take a big salary cut if they wanted to stay at the club. And Carr says White has made him a better player.
“Jake gives me confidence and I’m sure the whole squad feels the same way. For example, he will say that you don’t have to stick rigidly to our structures or game plan; if the game’s picture is changing – like the opposition is defending differently – then play what you see. Jake will say, ‘I’m not saying don’t attack, I’m not saying don’t kick – those options are there for you to rely upon and fall back on’.
“As a result, we are fearless when we play. We’re not scared to make mistakes or give away penalties. As an aspiring coach, I’d want my players to play like that and express themselves.
“The reality is the coach is not on the field, so it’s the players who have to fix or change something depending on the situation,” Carr adds. “There are times when we fall short, but at least the conversations are taking place on the field. Things like, the opposition is using a player to defend a specific area of the field, so should we attack a different area, or their pack is tired so should we maul more? Those are the conversations Jake encourages us to have and that gives you confidence as players.”
Carr’s playing style stems from advice he received from his father, Faizel, who passed away last year, and Bishops, the Cape Town school renowned for running rugby.
“I learned my trade at Bishops, but credit must also go to my father,” he says. “When I was young he told me, ‘Look, you’re not the tallest player, you’re not the biggest player, and you’re not the fastest player. So we need to adapt your game if you want to be in the forward pack. The TV cameraman is always focused on the ball-carrier, so you need to make sure the ball is in your hands and that you do something majestic that they’ve never seen before.’ Bishops gave me the platform to do that.”
Western Province and the Stormers did too, so many questioned Carr’s decision to sign a permanent deal with Wasps in 2018 after a loan stint with them the year before.
“People told me the northern hemisphere is cold and wet, and fields are muddy, so you can’t plant your foot properly when stepping,” he recalls. “But I played fearlessly there. The ball was always wet but I somehow always found a way to do what I had done in South Africa. There was always a small space to attack, and Wasps actually ended up adopting my attacking style.”
It’s a style Carr hopes will appeal to the Springbok coaches again, so he can add to the five Test caps he earned in 2014 and 2016.
“Being selected for the Boks would be a bonus,” he says. “I just want to enjoy myself at the Bulls and be the best I can be. Having said that, every South African rugby player, whether you’re 18 or 38, wants to become a Springbok or rejoin the Springboks. I’ve had a taste of Test rugby and also played one game against the Barbarians. I’d love to wear the green and gold again.”
– This article first appeared in the April 2023 issue of SA Rugby magazine. The May 2023 issue is on sale now.