All Black gives Barnstaple second XV the edge

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The amateurs of Newton Abbot's second XV had the shock of their lives when they turned up for a game and discovered that the All Blacks' Jerry Collins was playing for the opposition.
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The 6ft 3in, 17-stone flanker - nicknamed 'The Terminator' for his ferocious tackling - turned out for rival Devon side Barnstaple against a stunned group of butchers, builders and bricklayers from Newton Abbot.

Collins, the hard man of the New Zealand back row and the proud owner of the biggest biceps in their squad, ran in a storming try and made three try-saving tackles during his 55 minutes on the pitch, helping Barnstaple to a 21-7 away victory in the Devon Merit Table fixture.
All Black Jerry Collins with Barnstaple XV
Back Row: All Black Jerry Collins lines up with the Barnstaple XV

The Samoan-born Collins, 26, took part in the match after bumping into Barnstaple's head coach, Kevin Squire, while on holiday in Devon.

Squire was enjoying a meal in a restaurant when he spotted the All Black. "I did a double-take when I saw who it was and knew I had to introduce myself," he said.

"He was very polite and unassuming. We talked for several minutes and I mentioned the club and invited him to come down and watch a game, but of course never expected him to turn up. He did though and even coached a session with the under-14 side, who were completely awe-struck.

"I told him we had a match coming up and he was welcome to join us, but again I was gobsmacked when he showed up to catch the bus with the rest of the players.

"It was very surreal for the lads as they are all amateurs - most of them are builders, bricklayers, plumbers and so on. He had even been to a sports store to buy a pair of boots."

Squire said his new recruit dropped down a gear to fit in with the standard of the game. "Jerry didn't play up his superstar status but was really one of the lads," he said.

"He didn't crunch into them like he could have done – they would have gone flying. He adapted his level of play to suit the game like a proper gentleman.

"It was a wonderful experience for all the players to play alongside such a big name in international rugby, even for the guys in the other team."

Newton Abbot coach Phil Burford said his side were "quite taken aback" when Barnstaple showed up with Collins in tow. "I think the second-team lads were pinching themselves after playing with such an icon," he said.

"After the match he was inundated with fans asking for pictures and autographs and he was happy to do it. He was a true professional."

Sounds like a nice lad

daveirl

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FourMasters

The guy was on holiday? Fair play to him, but I wonder if the hardest hit was the one he took from his girlfriend when he said "sorry hon, I'm off for the day to play with the local brickies".

RuggieBear

imagine if he had injured himself....wonder what the NZRU would have thought???

LostinBlanch

I heard this on off the ball a couple of days ago. apparently he even stopped off to buy some boots especially for the game.

Fair play to him. It's nice to hear of something like this.

Goodluck2me

LostinBlanch wrote: »

Fair play to him. It's nice to hear of something like this.

Imagine Rooney playing for his local sunday league team, it really is great to hear. shows the community spirit in rugby liek no other sport.

dc69

you cant really compare that tbh,i know of someone whos brother plays in england in the championship and he once got caught playing on his brothers sunday team in Ireland,god knows how they found out and he got fined about 30,000 euro,so imagine what rooney would get fined,its in their contracts etc,

jerry collins must have some Irish blood in him?with that surname