Arthur Harold Collins, fullback for the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

(1932, 1934) and for

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

(1927–1937), was born in

Stratford, New Zealand Stratford () is the only town in Stratford District, New Zealand, Stratford District, and the seat of the Taranaki region, in New Zealand's North Island. It lies beneath the eastern slopes of Mount Taranaki, approximately halfway between New P ...

on 19 July 1906. Weighing in at just 73 kg, and only 1.70m in height, Collins made a name for himself playing club rugby for Stratford and Clifton, and in 1927 was selected for the Taranaki

Rugby Football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league. Rugby football started at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, where the rules were first codified in 1845. Forms of football in which the ball ...

team. He went on to make 81 appearances for Taranaki over the next eleven years, building a reputation as "a reliable last line of defence and an accurate goalkicker".�

By 1932 Collins had caught the attention of the national selectors, making the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

side for the North vs South match. He was selected for the All Black team to tour

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, first donning the All Black jersey on 15 June in a preparation game against

Wellington Wellington 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 third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. Collins missed selection for the first test match, which was lost 21–17, but took over for the second in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

on 16 July in which he contributed a penalty goal to New Zealand's 21–3 victory. He went on to play the third test match in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

which New Zealand also won. His overall tour performance was considered "creditable", scoring 54 points in his nine matches and kicking a penalty and two conversions in his two test

No test matches were played in 1933, and Collins was again selected in 1934 for the tour to Australia. He played the first test in Sydney where the All Blacks were beaten 25–11. Collins could not play the second test due to injury, but played in the All Blacks vs "Rest of New Zealand" match when the team returned from Australia. This was his last game in the All Black jersey, having in those two years played 15 matches and scored 110 points. Collins retired from representative rugby football in 1937, and went on to serve as a coach and an administrator for Clifton Club, being honoured with life membership in 1970. A son, Bruce, played seven matches for Taranaki as a forward in 1962–63. Collins died on 11 January 1988, in Waitara, New Zealand, Waitara.

Bibliography

Chester, R.H. & McMillan N.A.C. (1994). Men in Black (2nd ed.). Moa Beckett Publishers Ltd, Auckland.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Arthur New Zealand international rugby union players 1906 births 1988 deaths Rugby union players from Stratford, New Zealand Rugby union fullbacks