I played rugby in secret. I told my parents I’d been fighting!
NIZAAM CARR ON A NEW LIFE AT WASPS . . . AND HIS MUSLIM FAITH
NIZAAM CARR was the first Muslim to play for South Africa and his faith is profoundly important to him, so when he heard that Wasps wanted to sign him on loan, it led to some online research.
In Cape Town, he has what he needs — mosques close by and a supply of halal food. He had to be sure that Coventry could also meet those needs.
If the search had drawn a blank there would have been no deal. Luckily for Carr, and for Wasps, the results were positive.
The 26-year- old Springbok back-rower is flourishing after being helped to settle in fast. ‘I’m comfortable when I can find halal food and the mosque,’ he said. ‘That was one of the first things that I looked for and there are plenty. I always think that if I sort out that side of my life my rugby will be easier. I went on Google. It is so easy to find what you want on the internet these days. The mosques have websites now!
‘What was quite good is that a lot of the boys knew about my religion and they told me where to find food — before I even asked them.’
Carr plays knowing that he is representing the Islamic community in Cape Town — and in South Africa as a whole. Very few people of his religion are involved in the professional game. ‘The Muslim community at home is very proud of me because I’m living their dream,’ he said. ‘I’ve represented the Stormers 83 or 84 times, played for Western Province, won the Currie Cup and played for the Springboks. I was the first Muslim to do that.
‘A lot of them wanted to play for these teams, but they couldn’t so when they see me it gives them a lot of satisfaction. I know, they say it to me.’
Whatever his training schedule, Carr will pray five times a day, but the major challenge is Ramadan. ‘ It is extremely tough,’ he said. ‘You can’t eat between six in the morning and six in the evening.
‘What I do now is wake up at three o’clock in the morning to have a protein shake and food. I just eat as much chicken and drink as much shake as I can to try to keep weight on. The Stormers have been very understanding. I train in the morning then see how I feel. If I’m not feeling good they just let me watch in the afternoon.’
Young Carr earned a bursary to attend the renowned ‘Bishops’ school to the east of Cape Town. It was a culture shock. ‘I’d never worn a blazer in my life,’ he explained. ‘I’d never worn a tie. Going there opened up my mind.’ He grew up in Mitchells Plain, a poor township with chronic crime.
‘It was quite tough,’ he said. ‘You’d see people breaking into houses and robbing people. To grow up in that environment is quite intimidating and if you are not strong mentally you can quickly fall prey to it all.
‘I was a soccer player but I got a bit too chubby so my coach told me to try rugby.
‘My family didn’t know I was playing rugby.
‘ Every day I would come home with a torn shirt and pants and broken shoes. My parents would ask, “What is happening at school?” and I told them I had been in fights. But my dad said, “You can’t be in a fight every single day”.
‘He came to the school and saw me playing, but he didn’t say much about it. Then I was lucky enough to get picked for the Western Province Under 9s team so they called my dad and told him, “You and your wife are invited to a capping ceremony”. That is the first time they really knew I was playing rugby.’
By going on to represent South Africa, he reached a pinnacle that was out of reach for two previous generations of his family, on racial grounds.
‘My dad was a flanker,’ he said. ‘He played club rugby and also played for the Western Province team, but there was apartheid at the time so he played for the coloured team.
‘ My grandfather was an amazing fly-half who played for South Africa, but again it was the apartheid regime so he played for the coloured Springboks. People tell me that my dad and grandfather were much better than me!’
If that is the case they were some players because Carr is an outstanding back-rower.
Last weekend, he was a tryscoring man of the match as Wasps won a pulsating derby against Leicester.
Tomorrow, he plays in a Champions Cup tie in La Rochelle, driven on by the acclaim that has come his way — and knowing that, thousands of miles from home, he is doing his community proud. WELSH region the Dragons are in talks to sign Australia fly- half Quade Cooper, 29, axed by the Queensland Reds.