Nizaam Carr (born 4 April 1991) is a South African rugby union footballer who plays either as a flanker, loose forward or number 8 and back rower. He is renowned for his athleticism and linking play.[2]

Nizaam Carr
Date of birth (1991-04-04) 4 April 1991 (age 33)
Place of birthCape Town, South Africa
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Weight103 kg (16 st 3 lb; 227 lb)[1]
SchoolDiocesan College
UniversityUniversity of Cape Town
Rugby union career
Position(s) Loose forward
Current team Bulls / Blue Bulls
Youth career
2007–2012 Western Province
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2011 UCT Ikey Tigers 5 (5)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2011–2017 Western Province 56 (80)
2012–2018 Stormers 97 (40)
2017Wasps 11 (20)
2018–2020 Wasps 45 (45)
2020–2021 Bulls 8 (0)
2020–2021 Blue Bulls 4 (0)
2021–2022 Wasps 19 (10)
2022– Bulls ()
2023– Blue Bulls ()
Correct as of 2 November 2022
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2011 South Africa Under–20 4 (10)
2014–2016 South Africa 5 (0)
2016 South Africa 'A' 2 (0)
2016 Springbok XV 1 (0)
Correct as of 18 April 2018

Personal life edit

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 edit

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 returned to South Africa to rejoin the Bulls for their next Super Rugby season, after the conclusion of his contract with Wasps.[13]

On 28 June 2021, it was announced that Carr would once again return to Wasps, after the conclusion of his Currie Cup commitments with the Bulls. Wasps entered administration on 17 October 2022 and Carr was made redundant along with all other players and coaching staff.[14] After been made redundant from Wasps, Carr returned to South Africa once again to rejoin the Bulls in the URC competition.[15]

International career edit

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.[16][17]

In October 2014, Carr 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.[18] He was named in the starting line-up for their first match in Bloemfontein,[19] but ended on the losing side as the visitors ran out 32–24 winners.[20] 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.[21]

Honours edit

Springbok statistics edit

Test match record edit

Against Pld W D L T Con Pen DG Pts %Won
  Italy 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 50
  Wales 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
  England 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 5 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 20

Pld = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, Tri = Tries Scored, Con = Conversions, Pen = Penalties, DG = Drop Goals, Pts = Points Scored

Super Rugby statistics edit

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 edit

  1. ^ a b "SA Rugby Player Profile – Nizaam Carr". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d Zelim Nel (28 October 2014). "Mommy, come watch! I'm a Springbok!". IOLsport. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  3. ^ Gavin Rich (4 September 2014). "Carr versatile with flank shift". SuperSport. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  4. ^ Gavin Rich (3 September 2014). "Socially conscious Nizaam enjoys linking role". supersport.com. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  5. ^ "Carr ready should Boks call". Sport24. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  6. ^ "Nizaam Carr Western Province Player Profile". WP Rugby. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  7. ^ "Nizaam Carr Stormers Player Profile". Stormers Rugby. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  8. ^ "SANZAR rule upsets Coetzee". Sport 24. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  9. ^ a b "Nizaam Carr itsrugby Player Profile". itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ "South African back row Nizaam Carr to join Wasps on short-term contract" (Press release). Wasps. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  12. ^ "DHL Stormers trio released to play in Europe" (Press release). Stormers. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  13. ^ "Nizaam Carr swaps Wasps for Bulls". Planet Rugby. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  14. ^ Bridge, Bobby (17 October 2022). "Wasps' administration confirmed as 167 employees made redundant". CoventryLive. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  15. ^ "Ex-Wasps back-rower Nizaam Carr has named his new URC club". Rugby Pass. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  16. ^ "SA Under 20 squad named". Sport 24. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  17. ^ "Nizaam Carr IRB JWC Player Profile". International Rugby Board. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  18. ^ "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.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa "A" 24–32 England Saxons". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  21. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa "A" 26–29 England Saxons". South African Rugby Union. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2016.