Collins has a ball in club turnout
BOB HOWITT WHEN Blues fullback Michael Collins missed selection in the squad for Saturday night’s game against the Highlanders in Dunedin, he contacted Wakatipu club officials to let them know he was available if they needed him.
Did they what.
With injuries having depleted their squad ahead of the big clash with Arrowtown, coaches Brad Robertson and Brett Anderson jumped at the chance to get Collins involved, offering him the No 13 jersey.
For someone who grew up in Queenstown, it became, remarkably, Collins’ first appearance for the club’s premier side.
‘‘I’d played junior rugby in Queenstown and my dad, Kelvin, was heavily involved there as an administrator, but all my senior club rugby was in Dunedin, and later Auckland,’’ Collins said.
Collins said he was ‘‘blown away’’ by the occasion, as Jack Reid Park in Arrowtown attracted a massive crowd for this intense local derby.
‘‘It was a real thrill to be involved on such an occasion,’’ he said.
Collins contributed significantly to Wakatipu’s onepoint victory, scoring his team’s first try and playing a crucial role in the second, which clinched the game.
Collins said more Super Rugby players should take the opportunity to turn out for clubs when chances arise.
‘‘Its great for the game and a reminder of what grass roots rugby in New Zealand is all about.’’
Collins said club rugby in Auckland was so structured, with every player given a specific role, that it had been a delight to play ‘‘something different’’ down here.
‘‘To be honest it took me most of the first half to work out who was doing what.’’
THE rival coaches were as bemused as the home crowd after Wakatipu pulled off a stunning 2019 comeback victory in one of the great White Horse Cup contests at Jack Reid Park in Arrowtown on Saturday.
By the time Arrowtown took a 1913 lead coming up to the threequarter mark, a local victory seemed assured.
The Arrowtown forwards were monstering Wakatipu in the scrums and disrupting its lineout, and there did not seem any way back for the challengers.
And then, out of the blue, came one of those ‘‘wow’’ moments that will be forever recalled by Wakatipu stalwarts for years to come.
As the ball spewed sidewards away from a ruck just inside the Wakatipu half, replacement loose forward Sam Collins snapped it up and bolted upfield.
He linked with Rube Peina, who soon located centre Michael Collins, the Blues player making his first appearance for the Wakatipu premiers.
Collins’ acceleration ripped open Arrowtown’s scrambling defence and when he returned the pass, Peina had a clear run to the goal line.
You could have risked your life savings that super boot Chris Young would add the conversion, from close range, putting Wakatipu a point in front.
The home fans, who had turned out in massive numbers, could not believe their team was now trailing.
To add to their dismay, nothing changed in the final 16 minutes, spoiling Arrowtown’s 30th anniversary celebrations but giving the Wakatipu players and supporters plenty to celebrate.
Wakatipu assistant coach Brett Anderson, who had come on as a replacement prop during the dramatic final quarter — his first appearance in more than two seasons — said it was a contest where there did not deserve to be a loser.
‘‘[Arrowtown] have got the best scrum and best lineout in the competition and they disrupted us for much of the game.
‘‘But once Rube Peina scored that try, there was suddenly a selfbelief that we could win. We managed to keep them pinned deep in their own half for the last 10 minutes.’’
Anderson said the White Horse Cup was not something the team had focused on in the buildup.
‘‘We had plenty to work on with our set pieces, especially with a couple of eighteenyearolds in the front row,’’ he said.
‘‘Winning the trophy was a bonus.’’
Arrowtown coach Aidan Winter was fuming at the final whistle because his players had gone away from the game plan.
‘‘Our kicking game deteriorated," he said.
‘‘We were supposed to kick for touch or deep beyond the fullback, not straight down his throat. He kept driving us back.’’
Winter felt his team had thrown the game away, rather than Wakatipu winning it.
Arrowtown did have the misfortune to lose first fiveeighth Connor Bisset with injury early in the second half. If things go according to plan, Arrowtown will get a White Horse Challenge in Queenstown in midJune.
The special heroes of Wakatipu’s win were fullback Young — whose boot was a telling factor on a day when the surface and ball were slippery after morning rain — special guest star Michael Collins, and loosies Brad Cross and tryscoring hero Piena.