RUGBY: ULSTER BANK LEAGUE PREVIEW: FIONN CARR INTERVIEW
Carr ready for second Naas debut
By Daire Walsh
THIS Saturday promises to be a day to remember for Kildare native Fionn Carr, who will be donning the green and white of Naas RFC for the first time in almost two decades.
After his second spell with Guinness Pro12 champions Connacht came to an end during the summer, Carr opted to return to the club that first introduced him to the game of rugby – and when he received a phone call from his ex-Newbridge College team-mate Johne Murphy, it proved to be an easy decision for him.
“It will be a bit different, but it will be interesting to throw back on the Naas jersey again. It will probably be over 18 years [since I last played with them],” Carr remarked.
“Johne got onto me, and just asked me if I’d be interested, and I said ‘sure, why not?’ He was there, and I knew a few guys there from previous, lads that I was in school with, and lads that I would have played underage with. It made it quite easy.”
Although Connacht enjoyed a groundbreaking 2015/16 season under the guidance of Pat Lam, it proved to be a frustrating campaign for Carr – who made just six first-team appearances in total.
The 30-year-old revealed that he was looking at a couple of different options (including the possibility of moving abroad), but ultimately found that Naas was the perfect fit for him.
“I was looking at a few different things, but I was kind of contemplating going maybe abroad as well, which I still might do. At the time, I kind of wanted to get off the ground probably work-wise and that type of thing. It just fitted at the right time as well for me.
“For me it was probably a little bit of a frustrating season, but that’s the way the game goes. Sometimes you can get picked, other times you won’t. It’s just the nature of the game, I suppose.”
Considering he spent much of his professional career in Galway, Carr is ideally placed to run the rule over Saturday’s opponents, Galwegians. He feels their mixture of youth and experience will make them one of the teams to beat in the second-tier, and knows they will be eager to bounce straight back up to Division 1A.
“I’d know a bit about them alright. They’re a good side, there’d be a lot of young Connacht Academy players, and a few senior players thrown in. It’ll be quite a tough game. After coming down from 1A last year, I’m sure they’ll be one of the hot favourites to go back up.”
As player/coach, Johne Murphy will have a massive role to play with Naas both on and off the pitch this season. Although Carr wasn’t a part of the set-up that gained promotion from Division 2A last May, he has nevertheless been impressed with the way Murphy has attempted to implement the professional aspects of the Munster and Leicester set-ups he played in.
“Yeah, Johne has done well. He’s obviously got stuck into the coaching straight away. He was a good pro, so he’s probably brought a lot of knowledge from Munster, and the professional game in Leicester, that he’s learnt over the years. It’s a game that he’s trying to implement in Naas, so he’s going really well.”
While the upcoming campaign may well be a tough transition for Naas, the recent history of teams coming up to Division 1B does provide room for encouragement. Carr is reluctant to follow the model of other clubs, however, as he believes the squad unity and culture within the club will be the true driving force for them this term.
“They could look at other clubs, but to be honest, I don’t think Naas really have to. Teams that come up from 2A, I suppose, have momentum, and that’s what I’d like to think that Naas have, a bit of momentum coming into 1B now, and that there’s good unity in the squad. There’s a good culture in the club, and I think Naas will kick on and do quite well this year in the league,” Carr added.
Naas begin their UBL Division 1B season against Galwegians at Forenaughts on Saturday 17 September at 2.30pm.