Jerry Collins
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Jerry Collins (4 November 1980 – 5 June 2015) was a
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...
n –
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
player. He played for
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, for whom he was capped 48 times, as well as for the
Wellington Hurricanes The Hurricanes ( ; formerly the Wellington Hurricanes) is a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Wellington that competes in Super Rugby. The Hurricanes were formed to represent the lower North Island, including the East Coast, H ...
in New Zealand,
Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
and
Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the ...
in the Rugby Pro D2, Ospreys in the UK, and
Yamaha Júbilo Shizuoka Blue Revs (formerly the Yamaha Júbilo) are a rugby union team based in Iwata, Shizuoka, Japan. The team came second behind Toshiba Brave Lupus in the second season of Japanese rugby's Top League (2004–05). They were coached by former ...
in Japan. He played as a flanker and number eight, and was considered to be one of the hardest tacklers in rugby history, along with Brian Lima. Collins and his partner, Alana Madill, were killed in a car accident in southern France in June 2015.


Early career

Collins was born in Samoa but grew up in his beloved hometown of Porirua. He made New Zealand Secondary Schools through his performance in the 1st XV side at St. Patrick's in
Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...
for three seasons running in 1996, 1997 and 1998 and was Player of the Tournament at the 1999 World Junior Championships (Under-19) which New Zealand won, before going on to become the first player from that team to be called up to the
All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...
in 2001.


Professional career

Collins made his
Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...
debut in the NPC in 1999, and his
Wellington Hurricanes The Hurricanes ( ; formerly the Wellington Hurricanes) is a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Wellington that competes in Super Rugby. The Hurricanes were formed to represent the lower North Island, including the East Coast, H ...
debut in 2001. He made a total of 74 appearances for the Hurricanes between 2001 and 2008, which included an appearance in the 2006 final against the
Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
at AMI Stadium. After debuting for the All Blacks in 2001, Collins went on to play 48 test matches, scoring five tries. In June 2006, he captained the All Blacks in a one-off Test match against
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, where he led his team to a 25–19 victory in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
becoming the 61st captain of the All Blacks. He was named as All Black captain 2007 Rugby World Cup matches against Portugal and Romania, standing in for regular captain
Richie McCaw Richard Hugh McCaw (born 31 December 1980) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player. He captained the national team, the All Blacks, in 110 out of his 148 test matches, and won two Rugby World Cups. He has won the World Rugb ...
. Collins retired from international rugby in May 2008. Shortly afterwards, he played in a rugby league match in the Wellington Competition, registered under a different name. The team was fined. In October 2007, following New Zealand's exit from the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Collins was vacationing in
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
when he was spotted by Barnstaple head coach Kevin Squire who invited him to watch the team play a match at the weekend. Much to the club's surprise Collins turned up so they asked if he minded running a coaching session with the junior section. After doing this Kevin Squire thanked 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 Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its 2011 population of 24,029 was estimated to reach 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in the Victorian era as the home of the So ...
. In a match a few weeks later for the Barbarians he wore the Barnstaple socks. After leaving the Hurricanes, Collins played for
Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
during the 2008–09 season, joining Sonny Bill Williams in the club's aggressive recruitment drive. In May 2009, Collins agreed to a two-year deal to join Welsh team Ospreys. He was Ospreys' Players' Player of the Year in the 09/10 season. He then played for
Yamaha Júbilo Shizuoka Blue Revs (formerly the Yamaha Júbilo) are a rugby union team based in Iwata, Shizuoka, Japan. The team came second behind Toshiba Brave Lupus in the second season of Japanese rugby's Top League (2004–05). They were coached by former ...
in the
Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...
in Japan, whom he joined at the beginning of the 2011 season. He last played for the classic All Blacks against Fiji in 2013, and he took 2014 off. In January 2015, Collins signed a contract as a Medical Joker to play in the French ProD2 with Racing Club Narbonne. He was injury cover for Rocky Elsom.


Personal life

Collins was a cousin of former All Blacks captain and Hurricanes teammate
Tana Umaga Jonathan Ionatana Falefasa Umaga (; ; born 27 May 1973) is a New Zealand former rugby union footballer and former captain of the national team, the All Blacks. Since 2016 he has been coach of the Blues in the Super Rugby competition. He play ...
. In March 2013, Collins was arrested in a
Hamamatsu is a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. the city had an estimated population of 791,707 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, and a population density of . The total area of the site was . Overview Ha ...
department store after he was spotted carrying a 17 cm-long knife. Friends of his claimed he was carrying it for self-defence after he was threatened. He was tested negative for all illegal substances. A few days after the arrest, Collins said he was "relieved" to have been arrested, as he feared for his life.


Death

Collins and his partner Alana Madill, aged 34, died on the morning of 5 June 2015, after Alana fell asleep at the wheel and lost control of their car and collided with a bus on the
A9 autoroute The A9 autoroute (La ''Languedocienne''/''La Catalane'') is a motorway in southern France. The road forms part of the European route E15, as does the A9 road (Scotland). The road runs between Orange and Perthus, in the Pyrénées-Orientale ...
near Béziers in southern France. His three-month-old baby daughter, Ayla, survived, largely due to Collins attempting to take the brunt of the force away from Ayla by enveloping her in his own body, Ayla was then transported to the hospital in Montpellier in critical condition. Ayla spent a month recovering in intensive care at the hospital in Montpellier, including two weeks spent in a coma. In early July, it was announced Ayla would move to Canada with the Madill family, and continue receiving treatment at a Canadian hospital. Porirua Park Stadium was officially renamed Jerry Collins Stadium on 25 March 2016 in his honour.


References


External links

*
Ospreys profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Jerry 1980 births New Zealand international rugby union players 2015 deaths Road incident deaths in France New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Barbarian F.C. players Sportspeople from Apia RC Toulonnais players People educated at St. Patrick's College, Wellington New Zealand expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Japan Samoan emigrants to New Zealand Expatriate rugby union players in Wales Expatriate rugby union players in France New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Wales New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in France New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Japan Shizuoka Blue Revs players Wellington rugby union players Hurricanes (rugby union) players Ospreys (rugby union) players Barnstaple RC Narbonne players Victoria University of Wellington alumni