Former All Blacks flanker Jerry Collins and his wife, Alana Madill, died after their car was struck by a bus on a highway outside the southern French town of Beziers yesterday.
Police officer Thierry Duffau said Madill was driving while 34-year-old Collins was in the back seats.
Highway police in Beziers said their baby daughter Ayla was gravely injured in the crash about a half-hour drive from Narbonne, where Collins had been playing since January for the town’s second-division club. Ayla was airlifted to a hospital in Montpellier in what French police called a “very serious” condition.
Photo: AFP
No one in the bus, which transported 21 people, was harmed.
According to initial findings by police, Madill lost control of the car at about 3am and hit security barriers before stopping on the slow lane of the highway. The bus coming behind could not avoid the car.
“The news has shocked us all, and our thoughts are with Jerry and Alana’s families at this terribly sad time,” New Zealand Rugby general manager Neil Sorensen said. “We offer our deepest condolences to them, and will support them as they come to terms with this devastating news.”
Tributes for Collins flooded in from former teammates and opponents.
Former All Black Jonah Lomu tweeted: “Rest n peace My brother JC n your lovely lady. You will be surely missed. Prayers to your little [girl].”
All Black Keven Mealamu wrote, “Don’t want to believe it,” while Sonny Bill Williams said: “Love you uso, May God look after your little one.”
Ireland great Brian O’Driscoll tweeted: “Terrible news about Jerry Collins & his wife in France. Thoughts are with his family.”
Springboks winger Bryan Habana wrote: “Terrible news to wake up to about Jerry Collins and his wife’s passing keeping his family and friends in my thoughts and prayers.”
Australian Rugby Union chief executive officer Bill Pulver paid tribute to “one of the toughest forwards in the game,” who is “right up there with the all-time great players to wear the All Black jersey.”
French club Toulon, where Collins played for one season, said it was in mourning, and its players would wear a black armband in yesterday’s Top 14 semi-final against Stade Francais.
Collins rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most feared and admired rugby players of his generation.
Collins was born in Apia, Samoa, and raised in Porirua, a blue-collar suburb on the outskirts of Wellington. He showed huge potential at an early age, becoming a high-school star, winning selection for New Zealand Secondary Schools and being named player of the tournament at the Junior World Cup in 1999.
His elevation to the All Blacks in 2001 — his first season in Super Rugby and at the age of only 20 — was no surprise and, though injury briefly interrupted his international career, he returned to the All Blacks from 2003 to become a regular.
Collins, an imposing 1.91m and 107kg at his optimum playing weight, played at blindside flanker and became internationally famous for the ferocity of his tackling.
That aptitude may have been best demonstrated in 2003 when Collins knocked out Wales captain Colin Charvis in a legitimate, but bone-rattling tackle during a Test in Hamilton, New Zealand. All Blacks captain Tana Umaga, Collins’ cousin, won an international sportsmanship award for placing the unconscious Charvis in the recovery position while play continued.
Collins became a highly respected and senior member of the All Blacks, and was given the captaincy for a 2006 Test against Argentina in Buenos Aires. A profile on the New Zealand Rugby Web site said his earthy comments at a post-match news conference might have contributed to the short-lived nature of his captaincy.
He also led New Zealand in pool matches at the 2007 World Cup. The quarter-final loss to France at that tournament was the last of Collins’ 48 Tests.
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