All Blacks speedster Leroy Carter is itching to test his grit, aerial game and attacking nous against his Springbok rivals at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, reports DEVIN HERMANUS.
The 27-year-old comes into the run-on side on the left wing, with coach Dave Rennie citing his defensive work as a key factor behind the selection ahead of Josh Moorby, who drops to the bench after starting last week’s 33-16 win in Johannesburg.
“I pride myself on the defensive side of things. I guess it came a little bit from the sevens programme, just all the skills that you learn playing that game,” Carter said during a press junket in the build-up to the second Test of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series.
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Carter, capped eight times since scoring on debut against South Africa in September 2025, will find himself up against Kurt-Lee Arendse in the absence of Cheslin Kolbe.
“Kolbe’s out this week, but Kurt-Lee’s in and I’ll be marking up against him. Amazing feet. It’s just another challenge,” he said.
Former sevens international Carter, who represented New Zealand at the 2024 Paris Olympics and was a 2023 World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year nominee, is well versed in the aerial battle he expects alongside Damian McKenzie and Will Jordan.
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“Just try to catch it, yeah? [Laughter] It’s been the goal for a while, but we’re putting plenty of work into it,” Carter said.
“Sometimes we’re not getting the scraps right, and they have some good wingers in the air to be fair, so we’ve just got to get up in the air early and catch it.”
Carter has already made his mark on tour, scoring against the Stormers in the opener and a brace against the Vodacom Bulls in the third match, and is eager to add to that tally.
“I try to get as many touches of the ball as I can; get involved, get around the forwards, stuff like that,” he added.
“That’s part of my game that I love to do, working off my edge and getting some touches … Hopefully I can do that on Saturday.”
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The Chiefs flyer also knows the Kiwis cannot afford to relax after their impressive five-tries-to-one result on the Highveld .
“After a win like that at Ellis Park, you’re on quite a high and it’s important to celebrate those wins, but come Monday we had a good mental focus of just resetting, starting our week over.
“We know the Boks are going to come out and want revenge,” Carter concluded.
Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images
The post Skilful Carter keen to get stuck into KLA appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
All Blacks speedster Leroy Carter is itching to test his grit, aerial game and attacking nous against his Springbok rivals at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
The post Skilful Carter keen to get stuck into KLA appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
