Hurricanes to channel Collins for semi-final inspiration
WELLINGTON: Not for the first time, the spectre of Jerry Collins will haunt Wellington Regional Stadium when the Hurricanes meet the Brumbies in their Super Rugby semi-final tomorrow.
The 34-year-old Collins died in a car crash in France earlier this month, devastating rugby circles in Wellington, where the hulking loose forward had become a cult figure.
Collins prowled across the Wellington turf for eight years with the provincial team, Hurricanes and All Blacks, flexing his bulging biceps and preparing a bone-jarring welcome for anyone who dared run into the space he was covering.
And Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd said the Brumbies can expect a similar kind of welcome in front of a sold-out crowd tomorrow when his side host their first home semi-final since 2006, when Collins was patrolling the park.
“We will carry Jerry, as we did last week and the week before,” Boyd told reporters yesterday. “He’s a part of us and it’s a tragedy that he’s not with us anymore.
“He’ll certainly give us some momentum on our D (defence).”
The Hurricanes learned of Collins’s death just before they played the Highlanders on June 5 and destroyed their understrength compatriots 56-20 in an emotionally charged per- formance in Napier.
The victory sealed the topseed for the playoffs and secured home advantage for the semi-finals and final next week, should they win on Saturday.
The home side will be at virtually full strength with Beauden Barrett returning from a minor calf injury.
All Blacks wing Cory Jane will miss the match with a minor hamstring tear that, according to Boyd, was almost fully repaired but causing just enough discomfort to rule him out of contention.
The Brumbies, meanwhile, have trained just once this week after they returned from South Africa, where they destroyed the Stormers in Cape Town, though have lost wing Henry Speight, who received a fiveweek ban for a dangerous tackle.
Brumbies Prop Scott Sio is expected to earn his 50th Super Rugby cap in the match. – Reuters