Our next Rugby Canada World Cup player profile focuses on Brantford Ontario’s own Aaron Carpenter, Canada’s Number 8 and replacement Hooker. A veteran in the Canada team, Carpenter attended the two previous World Cup campaigns.
32 year old Carpenter has played for Canada for over a decade now, having also captained the side for two years in 2012/13. He’s worn the Canadian jersey 77 times and scored 14 tries. In ten years, he’s had only one yellow card, and that was in his first year, 2005. He got his start with the Brantford Harlequins before making it into the international squad.
Carpenter has also had the privilege of playing professional rugby in the UK for the past 6 years, first for Coventry, followed by a successful three year stint at Plymouth Albion, and in 2013 he signed on with the Cornish Pirates.
Read on for a candid and exclusive Q&A session with Canada’s previous captain for his thoughts on the World Cup, fitness, and the future:
This will be your third RWC appearance. Did you think in 2007 you’d be able to say that you’d appear in two more World Cups, let alone one?
“I never thought in 2007 that I would still be around in 2015. At that time I was a lot younger and just trying to keep my head down, work hard, and take it one game at a time.
That’s something I’m still trying to do — just take it one game at a time.”
Is Brantford sending a branch of the #RedNation to England to watch Canada play?
“My family is coming, and a lot of my (Brantford) Harlequins teammates have told me they will also be there. I’m looking forward to all their support.”
How has the transition to Hooker been for you? Does it feel natural? Are you at home in the number 2 position?
“The transition to hooker has been difficult, especially coming later in my career. I am constantly learning and trying to improve myself. At the same time it’s a bit of a fresh start and a new challenge.”
You seem to be in really great shape, getting some good runs in and a couple of key tries. You aren’t the only veteran player in such top form. What do you think the reason for this is?
“I had a bad neck injury last November and I made a bit of a promise to myself to work harder in the gym to help protect myself from injury. In general, I have just tried to bring my back row mobility to the front row.”
What is your fitness regime like?
“My fitness regime is pretty tough, with usually a run or gym session every day. In the gym I either focus on power or strength. And my run either focuses on aerobic or anaerobic conditioning.”
When RWC is over you will return to Cornish Pirates action. How has it been there?
“Pirates has been amazing — they have supported me in becoming a hooker. We have also just heard the team has got planning permission for a new stadium, so things in Cornwall are going to be exciting over the next couple of years.”
You now have 65 test caps for Canada and are among 20 players who share this honour. How does it feel?
“65 caps is a lot of rugby when you look back at it. It seems to have gone so quick. I have been very lucky not to have had too many bad injuries and been able to keep my game at a high enough level to keep getting selected. It is a huge honour to be among the higher capped players.”
What are your hopes for World Cup both personally and within the team?
“Personally, for the World Cup I just want to perform to the best of my ability. For the team, we want the same, just to raise our game to another level so we can beat the best in the world.”
What does the future hold?
“The future for me holds lots of play dates with my two kids, and hopefully I can keep mixing in a bit of rugby when I can.”
What is a training day like for you? What do you do to reward yourself after a hard week of grafting?
“Usually a training day starts with some video review of the last weeks’ game. Then we have some stretching and mobility before we do weights. Then usually lineouts and scrums, followed by a team session ¬– then extra skills and physio.”
How do you feel Canadian rugby has changed in the decade you’ve been active? How has the support changed? What do you think of organizations such as Rugby United and all the attention on social media?
“When I started playing this game, there weren’t many professional players, maybe 5 or 6, and the rest were just guys. I think now we could field a whole team of pros.
“Overall, the whole Rugby Canada system has become more professional. And the support we receive from social media is helping to push us farther into the professional world. I remember playing games in front of very small numbers, now we can play games with 20,000 [in attendance] at BMO Field [in Toronto]. This is kind of support is amazing and something we need to keep happening.”
How have your first impressions of the World Cup atmosphere been since landing last Sunday and subsequently defeating Georgia? How is camp?
“The atmosphere is good – really working hard at getting our roles determined, and everyone is fighting for positions. We are really coming together as a squad now since the 31 were named. It is always difficult when guys have to leave the team environment, but now that’s over and we can just focus on the task at hand.
“The Georgia win was amazing. Even though it was one point [the final score was 16-15 to Canada], it was great to get a test win leading into the World Cup and get that off our back. We caught a couple breaks that might have been going against us recently.”
How has it felt to be one of the players in top form these past few games?
“I am glad I am playing well. I just want what is best for the team and to see us in the win column more. Hopefully, I can just keep playing really well and push the guys around me to up their game. We all need to be ready for September 19 [World Cup opener against third seeded Ireland], and that is all we are thinking about now.”
Canada’s road to World Cup 2015 is a busy one. They play Fiji this coming Sunday at The Stoop, home of the popular Premiership club, Harlequins. The match is at 9:30 am EST/ 6:30 am PST and will be streamed live.
They then have their four pool matches in a tight three week period, playing September 19th (Ireland), September 26th (Italy), October 1st (France), and October 6th (Romania). All four of these matches will be highly physical, so the fact that Carpenter is at his physical best is a positive.
It’s a challenging autumn ahead for our boys, so their focus is sharply on doing their best to coordinate their game and keep their fitness levels high. As for Aaron Carpenter, he’s going to focus on his game and enjoy every moment of this World Cup experience.
Third time’s the charm – Canadian supporters will look for more great on-field action and leadership from this great veteran player.
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