Carr ready to step up for WP

Rudolph Jacobs

To say that Western Province’s ace No 8 Nizaam Carr (above) has been one of the most underrated players when it comes to Springbok selection is probably hitting the nail on the head.

One of the best linking No 8s in the Warren Whiteley mould, the 26-year-old Carr is seen as one of Province’s key players going into this weekend’s Currie Cup final against the Sharks in Durban.

Part of the Province set-up since 2011, Carr played just five Tests on the end-of-year Bok tours of 2014 and 2016 but surely deserved more.

And after his Man-of-theMatch performance against the Lions last weekend, it won’t come as a big surprise if his name is read out when the 31-man Bok squad is announced this weekend for next month’s European tour.

“The game against the Lions was not the prettiest but it all started with the in-depth preparation we did last week,” said Carr.

“We knew there were Boks back for the Lions and we obviously had to dig deep, but I was really proud of the boys the way they stood up.”

Province have featured in four of the last five finals since 2012, having won in 2012 and 2014 but losing to the Sharks in 2013 and to the Lions in 2015.

And even though they beat the Lions last weekend and the Sharks two weeks ago, Carr believes they will have to make another big step-up this weekend.

“We still want to improve on last weekend though and it was back to the drawing board as we were all looking forward to meet the Sharks in the final,” he said.

Carr, however, rated Lions No 8 Kwagga Smith as one of the most dynamic players around.

“When (Sikhumbuzo) Notshe came on for us he brought a bit of flair to our loose trio, but it was a hard-fought battle,” he said.

“And a guy like Kwagga had an unbelievable match and just stopping the Lions pack wasn’t easy.”

Jaco Peyper has been appointed to referee his third final in six years.