Richie McCaw pays tribute to Jerry Collins

Following the death of Jerry Collins and his wife in a car crash, New Zealand captain Richie McCaw has paid tribute to his former team-mate.
New Zealand captain Richie McCaw has paid tribute to former team-mate Jerry Collins after the flanker, along with his wife Alana Madill, was killed in a car crash in France on Friday.
The couple’s three-month-old daughter Ayla remains in a critical condition following the incident and Collins’ former All Blacks colleagues Neemia Tialata and Chris Masoe – currently based in France – have reportedly travelled to Montpellier with their partners to offer support.
“Unique is probably the right word,” said McCaw of Collins, who won 48 caps for his country. “He was hugely generous to people. He would turn up and do things with kids that perhaps the hard persona that you’d see at times didn’t match.
“He’d give his time willingly to people and touch people in a way that others would never consider.
“I think of that story when he played a club game in whatever division [for Barnstaple seconds against Newton Abbott]. Most of us it wouldn’t cross our minds, but that was something he would do. That was the unique side of him.
“You always knew he had your back. He was in the senior leadership group. He didn’t say a lot. He would say some things that would sometimes be random and sometimes be bang on.
“He would sit and listen. He was a smart man but he didn’t want to give that impression. He was pretty on to it and he offered a different perspective.”
McCaw’s association with Collins goes back to their days in the youth ranks.
“I played 30 or 40 tests with him and at age grade as well,” he added. “It’s very sad.
“It was a shock and one of those things that you don’t know how to react. We played a fair few test together and you build together being team-mates like that; going through certain situations. To not have him around any more is sad.”

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