Carre back, even better
Wales prop Rhys Carre is returning to Cardiff Blues an improved player for his short stop at Saracens
RHYS Carre met his former Saracens team-mate Vincent Koch for the first time in the heat of a World Cup semi-final battle.
Three weeks later he was in the same side as the Springbok world champion.
The then 21-year-old’s whirlwind 2019/20 season saw him win eight Welsh caps before making his Saracens debut in a 47-13 home win over Bristol Bears.
Yet no sooner had he got his feet under the table at Allianz Park than he was one of the many players shipped out after the English giants were found to have breached the Premiership’s salary cap and had to cut costs instantly.
It may have been a brief sojourn away from his native Cardiff for the new Welsh loose-head star in the making, but Carre believes he has now returned to the Blues as a better player.
“It was priceless being able to have a chat with Vincent and Mako Vunipola, especially as they both played in the World Cup final,” said Carre.
“They obviously know what they are doing and have played all over the world against various opponents. I’d only been exposed to a few at the World Cup and in the PRO14.
“Being able to tap into their knowledge and experience was fantastic. We had a few tasty training sessions and I just hope to be able to play against them in the future.
“It would be nice to see what might happen in an actual game.
“The experience I’ve had over the summer during lockdown and the brief time I spent at Saracens has made me more confident in my own abilities.
“Before I was just happy to be on the bench. Now I’m not going to accept anything less than a start. That means I’m going to have to push myself even harder.
“I’ve been put in some strange situations since being away from Cardiff whether that be in Japan or in London. All I’d ever known before was life at home in Cardiff.
“I’ve had to grow up a lot quicker than I thought I would have. It has been a great experience and a real eye-opener into how things actually work in the world.
“If you had said to me 12 months ago I’d be playing in a World Cup semi-final I would never have believed you. It just shows if you work hard you can get there.”
Limited game time with the Blues, along with a delay in contract negotiations, combined to motivate Carre to leave his home city and take up an offer to play at Saracens.
It may not have lasted long, but he has now played 195 minutes of Test rugby, rubbed shoulders with the likes of the Vunipolas, Koch, Maro Itoje and Jamie George and, as he admitted, “learned a few dark arts”.
More than anything, Carre has learned a lot about himself.
“Going to the World Cup has given me a lot more confidence. There were a couple of big scrums in the quarter-final against the French that helped us to gain and maintain possession and made me feel a lot more confident as a scrummager,” he added.
“When I got back from the World Cup on the Monday, Saracens wanted me in training on the Thursday. I had a day off on Tuesday and moved everything up into my flat in London on the Wednesday. I then went straight into a team session on the Thursday and was a travelling reserve that weekend.
“It was a tough few weeks trying to learn all their plays and calls, but once I got that nailed down it was alright.
“I was always going to come back to the Blues after two years, but now I’ve got to make the loose-head position my own. After that I can think about getting to my ninth cap.”