Legends of Club Rugby: Brad Carr (Feilding Yellows)

This past Saturday Brad Carr led his Feilding Yellows side out on to the field for the opening round of the Manawatū club rugby competition and took his place at fullback to play his 350^th Senior A game (above).

Fittingly, Carr scored two first half tries for his side, as Feilding Yellows opened their hunt for a three-peat of Manawatū championship titles with a 34-10 win over Freyberg.

Club Rugby caught up with Carr, who works at Feilding Intermediate School during the week and has been a member of the Feilding Yellows side continuously since the late 1990s.

 Name: Brad Carr

Nickname: Wayne Carr, WT

Playing positions.14,15,13,10

Secondary school attended: Palmerston North Boys’ High School and Queen Elizabeth College

Senior Club: Feilding Yellows

Senior A appearances:  350*

Representative teams played in:

Every age grade team for Manawatū starting at under 11 up to the Turbos NPC team in 1999. I played 20 games over three-four years and earned my blazer.

Are you from Feilding, have you lived there all your life?

I was born in Australia and moved to Palmerston North when I was 2 years old. I am married to my high school sweetheart, Wendy (marked 25 years together in January) and we have two kids, Lily 16 and Hunter 13.

We moved to Feilding when I was 6 years old and have been here ever since. I played all my junior rugby for Feilding in bare feet on frosty mornings at Timona Park.

Do you have an earliest memory either watching or playing rugby; can you recall how and when you started playing the game?

My first ever game of rugby was actually for Freyberg in Palmerston North. I was 5 years old. My next-door neighbour was playing one Saturday, and his team was short, so I jumped on. I am pretty sure I scored a try. I was hooked on rugby that day.

Do you have a highlight or standout match or memory from playing school rugby?

I never played First XV rugby. Under 16 was as far as I went at school, but I’d have to say that Under 15 colts was the best memory because we travelled quite a bit and we played some big name schools.

When you joined the Feilding Yellows, did you play for the Senior A team straightaway?

I played under 19s in 1998 when I was 16. I started playing senior A in 1999 at age 17. I played a couple of prezzies games with my old man when I was 13-14 years old which was pretty cool.

Can you recall your debut game or a standout early game for the Senior A team?

I don’t remember my first game but one game in my first season that stands out was against Feilding Old Boys. The game was old school rugby, rucking, biting, fighting and everything else that went on back then. One of my favourite tries I scored was in that game too.

What about other milestone matches, prior to your 350^th this past Saturday?

My 200^th game we played College Old Boys and they brought on a young Aaron Cruden to mark me. I have to say he spoilt the party that day. Another was my 300^th game I had interviews on Grassroots Rugby and managed to score a try, which was special and the club surprised me with a great party and people I had played with over the years turned up to help celebrate until the wee small hours

You also kick goals, do you know how many Senior A points you have scored in your career, and do you know what your season record is?

I think I have scored around 2500+ points. My first 13 years in a row I scored over 100 points then stopped kicking for a bit but was still scoring about 8-10 tries a year. In 2019 I kicked goals and scored 244 points which was by far the most I had ever scored in one season, which was also the season that we finally won the Senior A grade.

Is there a season that stands out above the many others?

In 2003 we played the whole season unbeaten then lost the final, which hurt a lot. The last three years have been the best with two titles in a row [2019 and 2020 champions].

Who were some of the characters or memorable teammates you played with?

One would have to be a young Aaron Smith, the energy that guy had was next level, always talking and running around like a headless chicken. Jason Eaton was another, he was always good at making sure the team was well hydrated at the aftermatch.

What about any tough and memorable opponents you played against?

The most memorable was Jonah Lomu, but at club level it was my current coach Andre Taylor. We had some ding dong battles over the years.

Who are the rival opposition teams who has brought out the best in you and your own team?

Our across paddock rival club Feilding Old Boys-Oroua is always the best game of the season to play in; for many guys it is like a test match at club level.

Any memorable post-game celebrations:

Too many to say to be honest, but one will have to be when I had about 10 too many and it took me five hours to walk home and I live about 500m from the clubrooms the wife was not happy to say the least.

Have you ever been sidelined for any period with injury and how’s the body holding up these days?

I’ve actually been very lucky with no major injuries so far. The worst was a hamstring about eight years ago that kept me out for about seven weeks. The body at the moment is holding up fine apart from good old pre-season grass burns.

No plans to hang up your boots just yet?

For me I guess I’ll keep going till my body can’t handle it anymore. At my age now it’s one season at a time and see how I feel. Who knows, 400 games isn’t that far away.

You also do some coaching?

I will be coaching my son Hunter in the under 14 A’s at Feilding High School this season and will hopefully follow him through his journey to one day play for the Feilding Yellows Senior A team too. I have coached rep rugby teams in the last couple of years so hopefully continue along that path too.

How has club rugby changed since you started playing Senior A rugby over two decades ago?

The rules have changed the most for many reasons: player safety, entertainment factor, which is good in my eyes, it means you are always learning and evolving with the rules. But I have to say I miss the days of rucking, it was always good to be in the showers comparing ruck marks with teammates.

The last word – who is going to win the 2021 Manawatu Senior A competition?

Feilding Yellows of course! Feilding yellows for sure.

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