Nizaam Carr
Nizaam Carr (born 4 April 1991 in Cape Town) is a South African rugby union footballer who plays either as a flanker or number 8. He plays for Bulls in Super Rugby. He is renowned for his athleticism and linking play.[2]
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Date of birth | 4 April 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Place of birth | Cape Town, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 103 kg (16 st 3 lb; 227 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Diocesan College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
University | University of Cape Town | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal life
Carr grew up in Mitchell's Plain and attended West End Primary before his father moved to Rondebosch East, where he still lives with his family.[3]
Carr is the first Muslim to be named in a Springboks squad[2] and to play for his national team after his subsequent debut against Italy. He fasts during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, even while playing rugby.[4] He runs a rugby academy at Islamia College in Lansdowne and hopes to inspire more young players from his community to achieve higher honours in rugby.[5]
Club career
Born in Cape Town, Carr attended Bishops and played in their First XV in 2008 and 2009. Carr made his way through the junior ranks of Western Province, playing Craven Week in 2009 and then made it to the senior team in 2011 where he debuted against the Golden Lions.[6] Impressive outings in a Province jersey somehow saw him called up to the Stormers Super Rugby squad for the 2012 season and he made a total of 7 appearances before a serious knee injury ended his year.[7][8][9] However, he bounced back during 2013 and made 14 appearances for the Stormers and also helped Western Province reach the final of the Currie Cup.[9]
Carr started the 2014 Super Rugby season on the bench, but an injury to Siya Kolisi led to him starting the final 11 matches of the Stormers' campaign in the number 6 jersey. He returned to his preferred number 8 position during the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division, with his team ending the season as champions.[2]
By captaining the Stormers in round 18 of the 2015 Super Rugby season, Carr became the first Muslim to have captained a Super Rugby team.[10]
On 30 October 2017, Carr signed a 3-month deal to join English Premiership side Wasps.[11] He rejoined the team on a full-time basis after the 2018 Super Rugby season.[12]
On 12 June 2020, Carr returns to South Africa to rejoin with the Bulls for their next Super Rugby season, after the conclusion of his contract with Wasps.[13]
International career
Carr was a member of the South Africa Under 20 team that competed in the 2011 IRB Junior World Championship where he made a total of 4 appearances and scored 2 tries.[14][15]
In October 2014, he was called up by the South Africa national rugby union team for their 2014 end-of-year rugby union internationals.[2] On 22 November, he made his Springbok test debut against the Italy national team.
In 2016, Carr was included in a South Africa 'A' squad that played a two-match series against a touring England Saxons team.[16] He was named in the starting line-up for their first match in Bloemfontein,[17] but ended on the losing side as the visitors ran out 32–24 winners.[18] He was named on the bench for the second match of the series, coming on as a first-half replacement in a 26–29 defeat to the Saxons in George.[19]
Springbok statistics
Super Rugby statistics
- As of 21 June 2015
Season | Team | Games | Starts | Sub | Mins | Tries | Cons | Pens | Drops | Points | Yel | Red |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | Stormers | 6 | 2 | 4 | 154 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2013 | Stormers | 15 | 6 | 9 | 647 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2014 | Stormers | 16 | 11 | 5 | 976 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 0 |
2015 | Stormers | 16 | 10 | 6 | 701 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 53 | 29 | 24 | 2478 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 0 |
References
- "SA Rugby Player Profile – Nizaam Carr". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- Zelim Nel (28 October 2014). "Mommy, come watch! I'm a Springbok!". IOLsport. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- Gavin Rich (4 September 2014). "Carr versatile with flank shift". SuperSport. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- Gavin Rich (3 September 2014). "Socially conscious Nizaam enjoys linking role". supersport.com. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- "Carr ready should Boks call". Sport24. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- "Nizaam Carr Western Province Player Profile". WP Rugby. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
- "Nizaam Carr Stormers Player Profile". Stormers Rugby. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
- "SANZAR rule upsets Coetzee". Sport 24. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
- "Nizaam Carr itsrugby Player Profile". itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
- LIZ MCGREGOR (18 June 2015). "Nizaam Carr: All in a day's work playing Super Rugby during Ramadan". Business Day. South Africa. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
- "South African back row Nizaam Carr to join Wasps on short-term contract" (Press release). Wasps. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- "DHL Stormers trio released to play in Europe" (Press release). Stormers. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
- "Nizaam Carr swaps Wasps for Bulls". Planet Rugby. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
- "SA Under 20 squad named". Sport 24. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
- "Nizaam Carr IRB JWC Player Profile". International Rugby Board. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
- "Ackermann to coach SA 'A' against Saxons". South African Rugby Union. 28 May 2016. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
- "Youth and experience for SA 'A' opener against Saxons". South African Rugby Union. 8 June 2016. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa "A" 24-32 England Saxons". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa "A" 26-29 England Saxons". South African Rugby Union. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2016.