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Jerry Collins (born 4 November 1980 in Apia, Samoa) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer who formerly played for the national team, the All Blacks in which he was capped 48 times.[1][2]
Collins has been a stalwart at blind-side flanker for the All Blacks, since 2004. He can also cover No. 8 and openside flanker positions. He is regarded as one of the most fearsome player in his position in world rugby. He is revered for his tenacity, fierce physicality and ability to play through pain. He is also widely regarded as one of the most intimidating players in the rugby world with his size and brutal tackling, in which he displayed against Wales in 2003, when he knocked out his opposite number Colin Charvis. He is also the subject of some cult like worship in Wellington secondary schools as a result of the legendary achievements he has made since leaving and moving into the higher ranks of New Zealand rugby. Jerry is also famous for doing pre-season training as a garbage collector. His leadership and admirable play has led to him becoming a regular stand in captain when needed. Many believe his leadership skills at the top level were revealed in the end of year Northern tour where the All Blacks played England at Twickenham, during which New Zealand won 22-19. While the All Blacks were down to 13 men for the last 30 minutes, it was Collins who lead a ruthless defensive game plan where England struggled to break the line. He has gone on to win 48 caps for his country, 3 of them as captain, and has also scored 5 tries.
On 2008-05-26, Collins announced his immediate retirement from rugby in New Zealand.[3] [4][5]
[edit] Representative history
Collins made New Zealand Secondary Schools through his performance in the 1st XV side at St. Patricks in Wellington for two seasons running in 1997 and 1998 and was Player of the Tournament at the 1999 World Junior Championships (Under-19) which New Zealand won, becoming the first player for that team to be called up to the All Blacks. Since debuting for the All Blacks in 2001, Collins has gone on to play 46 test matches, scoring four tries. Jerry had the honour of captaining the All Blacks in a one off test match in Buenos Aires against Argentina, filling in for regular skipper Richie McCaw. Recently, he was named as All Black captain in world cup matches against Portugal and Romania played in Lyon and Toulouse respectively, once again standing in for McCaw. All three times he has skippered the All Blacks he has triumphed and set the standard for his fellow players with his sheer grit and aggressive style of play.
[edit] The world's most feared player
Many have labeled Jerry Collins as the hardest tackler in world rugby. In 2005 he was nominated by Australian players in the Super 14 as their most feared opponent and was the only nominee . Collins is famous for putting on brutal, bone crunching tackles when needed. In the 2005 Phillips Tri-nations tournament Collins exhibited his might when he knocked out Australian back Morgan Turunui with one of his trademark tackles. Colin Charvis was admitted to hospital following a particularly hard tackle during the Welsh tour of New Zealand in 2003.
[edit] Trivia
Collins is a cousin of former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga, who also played with him in the Hurricanes. He is currently listed as having the biggest biceps in the All Blacks squad,
In June 2006, he captained the All Blacks in a one-off Test match against Argentina, where he lead his team to a 25-19 victory in Buenos Aires becoming the 61st captain of the All Blacks. After the match in a formal presentation involving both teams he gave a "particularly long speech" which was all done in Spanish. Many Argentine players praised him afterwards for his remarkable ability with the local language, considering it was his first time.
In October 2007, following New Zealands exit from the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Collins was vacationing in Devon when he was spotted by Barnstaple Rugby Football Club's head coach Kevin Squire who invited him to come and watch them play at the weekend. Much to the clubs surprise he turned up so they asked if he minded running a coaching session with the junior section. After doing this Kevin Squire thanked Jerry Collins and asked if there was anything they could do to repay him, to which Collins replied he just wanted to play rugby. So the following Saturday Collins turned out for the club's 2nd XV match against local side Newton Abbot. Playing as a No.8 he was forced to adapt his game to ensure he did not unduly dominate his amateur opponents.[6] After the match he asked if the club would allow him to turn out for the Barbarians game against the Springboks wearing his Barnstaple socks. There are rumors that Collins will soon sign with a French club but should top European side Munster come in with a bid then he will have to seriously sit down and think about their offer.
[edit] References
- ^ Collins ends New Zealand career. BBC (2008-05-26). Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
- ^ Nine new caps in All Blacks squad. BBC (2008-05-27). Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
- ^ "Collins quits NZ, future uncertain", TVNZ, 2008-05-26.
- ^ "Collins bids farewell", NZRU, 2008-05-26.
- ^ "Jerry Collins: All Blacks lose their hardman", The Roar, 2008-05-27.
- ^ Daily Telegraph however he did ground one try and put in a couple of big hits, Thursday 1st November, 2007 (Issue no 47,404) Sports Sction page S8 article by Michael Roper: All Black gives Barnstaple's 2nd XV the edge
[edit] External links
