Nizaam Carr Nizaam Carr wants the Bulls to avoid making unnecessary errors in Saturday’s URC showdown with Irish giants Leinster. Photo: BackpagePix
Image: BackpagePix
Leinster may be sending a mix-and-match team to Pretoria, but the Bulls need to worry about their own performance instead, according to Nizaam Carr.
Jake White’s team went down 19-16 to the Stormers in their last United Rugby Championship encounter on March 1, but will hope to propel their push for a top-two spot against the Irish giants on Saturday (5pm start).
The Bulls are still handily placed on the URC log in third position on 41 points, three behind Glasgow – although the unbeaten Leinster have a whopping 57.
So, even though the Dublin outfit may be without several of their Irish Six Nations players, it doesn’t mean that the Bulls are expecting another 62-7 thrashing that they dished out to a weakened Leinster side in April 2023.
“We will respect whoever they send down to South Africa, and they have guys who played in the Six Nations,” loose forward Carr said during a press conference on Tuesday.
“But on the field, it’s a different story. We need to execute our plans.
“We have been dominating in most facets of our play, but it’s just maybe a lapse of concentration (in recent matches).
“Our discipline might not be great or a silly error here or there cost us. I think at this level, any error you make, another team will really punish you.
“That then puts us a little bit under pressure. The (opposition) is leading, so we have to score points or chase the game down.
“And if you are playing with that mindset of ‘we need this’ or ‘we need to do this’, that is when you are maybe not focusing on the right thing, like running the proper line, or just catching and passing the ball.
“There are so many things going on in your mind, and that’s when you make those simple errors, especially towards the end of the game.”
The 33-year-old Carr might have to make way for fit-again Cameron Hanekom at No 8 this week, but can play a vital role off the bench in the final quarter when the pressure is at its greatest.
He stated that the Bulls cannot afford any defensive errors on Saturday.
“When going up for a high ball, you’re contesting against guys... everyone’s really improving that skill,” Carr said.
“You might knock the ball on, they attack from there and score in the corner because your defence is not properly set, and you have a tighty (tight forward) on the edge of the play.
“So, if we can just tighten up and sharpen up on those things, the smaller detail stuff, I think we will be sharp.”