COLLINS WILL LEARN

NATHAN COLLINS may head off on Ireland duty feeling like his 2022 bubble has well and truly burst, but the talented defender will ultimately be better for Saturday’s harsh learning curve.

Facing Pep Guardiola’s imperious Premier League champions was always going to be the test for the young Kildareman before his incredible six-month journey came full circle.

The last time the 21-yearold joined up with the

Ireland camp, in June, he was looking to establish himself in Stephen Kenny’s starting 11, as he had done impressively in his debut Premier League season with relegated Burnley.

Four games later Irish fans were hailing a future captain who had scored one of the country’s greatest ever goals.

The rollercoaster continued as a summer of exciting speculation ended with Wolves splashing a €24m record transfer fee for an

Irish player.

Collins immediately fit the bill, though, impressively settling into a Wolves side who went into Saturday’s game as the top defnece in the English top-flight, with the Irishman’s class on the ball in particular a real standout.

But then City — and goal machine Erling Haaland in particular — arrived at Molineaux.

Learned

If Collins thought his individual battle with the towering Norwegian was his big examination, he quickly learned.

Less than 60 seconds in and a classic Kevin de Bruyne overlap and cross had Collins scrambling to keep up with Haaland’s near-post run and Jack Grealish krept in behind to score.

City’s notorious attacking movement and interplay was pulling the Wolves defence all over the place and when

Bernardo Silva overloaded the left side Collins was attracted to Grealish, leaving Haaland with a free run on Max

Kilman and the rest is history.

Heads were probably spinning across the

Wolves back four by now and unfortunately Collins paid the ultimate price in the 33rd minute as a desperate lunge at Grealish saw him sent off.

Despite his protestations, Collins, who waited 25 minutes after the game for Grealish to finish media duties and offer an apology for the challenge, will have immediately realised he shouldn’t have made the unwinnable tackle.

He won’t find himself chasing shadows, for club or country, very often, but Ireland’s newest defensive star will ultimately be better for this horror experience.