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Cape Town - Stormers backline coach Robbie
Fleck wants loose forward Nizaam Carr to up his tempo even more when it comes
to linking on attack with the backline players.
Carr, 22, is highly regarding as a player with attacking flair, but hasn't had
the opportunity to show his full repertoire in recent weeks. Instead, he has
been a tackling machine in the absence of injured No 8 Duane Vermeulen.
Against the Reds a few weeks ago he made a staggering 28 tackles, and did a
stellar job in that regard against the Cheetahs last week too, when the
Stormers won 28-3.
Fleck wants the No 8 to fulfil a role Schalk Burger used to so well on attack, as the Capetonians prepare for their Super Rugby encounter against the Kings in Port Elizabeth on
Saturday.
"In the Cheetahs game, he didn't get as much ball as he usually does. But
in previous games, he's been one of our main guys. His stats have been
unbelievable, both defensibly and on attack," Fleck said in an interview
with the Cape Times.
"In the Cheetahs game, he had the highest work-rate on attack. He played a
tighter role, looking for work and cleaning rucks. But in previous games he was
one of our best ball-carriers.
"He has been outstanding, in my opinion, on attack and defence. But the
ball just didn't go his way in the Cheetahs game. Deon Fourie had all the ball
last week, but Nemo (Carr) is still ahead of him. It was his work off the ball
that really impressed us, and it is freeing up everyone else."
But despite all the praise, Fleck wants to see Carr up his attacking intent.
"He has always been known for his running lines when carrying and being a
link-man, and I do want to see more of that from him, big time. He has been
getting in amongst the backs, looking to offload - he is one of the few players
in our set-up who looks to offload first - and he has been mixing it up.
"We've been missing that linking player. Schalk Burger used to do that for
us, and Nemo is playing that role for us now. That's the way we'd like Nemo to
play. First and foremost, he is that linking eight that we want,"
continued Fleck.
Saturday's clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium kicks off at 17:05.
Kings:
15. SP Marais, 14. Marcello Sampson, 13. Ronnie Cooke, 12. Andries Strauss (captain), 11. Michael Killian, 10. Demetri Catrakilis, 9. Shaun Venter, 8. Jacques Engelbrecht, 7. Wimpie van der Walt, 6. David Bulbring, 5. Darron Nell, 4. Cornell du Preez, 3. Grant Kemp, 2. Bandise Maku, 1. Schalk Ferreira
Substitutes: 16. Charl du Plessis, 17. Hannes Franklin, 18. Steven Sykes, 19. Devin Oosthuizen, 20. Nicolas Vergallo, 21. George Whitehead, 22. Shane Gates
Stormers:
15. Joe Pietersen, 14. Gio Aplon, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Elton Jantjies, 9. Louis Schreuder, 8. Nizaam Carr, 7. Don Armand, 6. Deon Fourie (captain), 5. De Kock Steenkamp, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 3. Brok Harris, 2. Scarra Ntubeni, 1. Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16. Martin Bezuidenhout, 17. Pat Cilliers, 18. Gerbrandt Grobler, 19. Rynhardt Elstadt, 20. Nic Groom, 21. Gary van Aswegen, 22. Gerhard van den Heever
