Jerry Collins has died in a car crash

http://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/69152950/Former-All-Black-Jerry-Collins-killed-in-car-accident-in-France-local-media-reports-say

Former All Black Jerry Collins has died in a car crash in France, according to New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The All Blacks said on Twitter they are "shocked and saddened" by the news.

The hard-tackling former Ospreys blind-side flanker had been playing for Narbonne in France's second division.

Former All Black Jerry Collins and his wife Alana Madill have died in a car crash in France, according to French newspaper Le Figaro.

The crash took place on a stretch of highway in the Herault department. It is believed two others, understood to be Portuguese, have been injured in the crash involving a bus.

Collins’s three-month-old daughter has been airlifted to hospital in a critical condition.

The 34-year old Collins had most recently been playing for Racing Club Narbonne in the French second division, but played 47 Tests for the All Blacks between 2001 and 2007, as well as 85 matches for the Hurricanes and 47 for Wellington.

Collins is a cousin of former All Blacks captain and Hurricanes teammate Tana Umaga.

Shortly ago the official twitter channel of the All Blacks posted their condolences, with many from the rugby fraternity also sharing their sorrow.

Very sad news - RIP

Terrible terrible news RIP to both and prayers go out to their little girl.

Very sad i just hope the child child recovers

So so sad. Will always remember you Jerry.

Very sad news for rugby in general and NZ and his family in particular.

Best wishes for his little daughter.

Thats horrible, hope the kid's ok.

Crazy tragic.

Just like to add, tragic, tragic news, my thoughts are with his family RIP all.

Devastating news for a young family.

I've sent a tweet from the V2 account expressing our condolences

https://twitter.com/v2rugby/status/606724877282877440

What a player he was. Awful news.

Sad indeed or the Rugby community.
But why does there always have to be a child involved who now have no parents? Always seems to be the case. My heart goes out to her.

Very sad new. Fingers crossed for his child.

Very tragic news about Jerry and his wife. Thoughts with his young daughter and family and friends.

Very special player on the pitch and was a pretty interesting character of it. 2 stories that spring to mind about him from off the pitch are, when he was with the Hurricanes and playing for the All Blacks he still used to help out as a bin man. Would do the morning and evening bins routes as he felt it helped his cardio & strength training.
The other was after New Zealand got knocked out of the 07 world cup he went on holiday to Devon. He got speaking to one of the local club coaches and asked him if he could get a game at the weekend. Ended up playing for the clubs 2nd team.

Merged the two threads together.

Awesome player and fierce tackler and a joy to watch except when playing your team. Incredibly sad news and fingers crossed for the daughter.

A true legend sadly gone. I'd always admired the man for his hard as nails persona on the pitch yet such a humble man off it. The Story already mentioned about turning out for the club in Devon has always stuck in my head about him. My thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family, especially his little one.

R.I.P.

Desperately sad news.

Awful awful news, when these things happen it sort of puts things into perspective. Such a young family as well.

Lets hope the young kid pulls through.

What a sad day. Puts rugby in perspective. One of my favourite all blacks.

Hope the nipper makes it thrugh.

Legend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAEhpxzzR1w

Such a great player he was back in the day, and definitely a crowd favourite in Wales during his stint with the Ospreys. Jerry do you think Wales will beat the All Blacks this year? "Well they say that every year don't they? " Fond memories of the guy! RIP both.

Majestic83 wrote:Very tragic news about Jerry and his wife. Thoughts with his young daughter and family and friends.

Very special player on the pitch and was a pretty interesting character of it. 2 stories that spring to mind about him from off the pitch are, when he was with the Hurricanes and playing for the All Blacks he still used to help out as a bin man. Would do the morning and evening bins routes as he felt it helped his cardio & strength training.
The other was after New Zealand got knocked out of the 07 world cup he went on holiday to Devon. He got speaking to one of the local club coaches and asked him if he could get a game at the weekend. Ended up playing for the clubs 2nd team.

Im not sure if we are talking about the same club, but Collins was asked to play for  a club called Barnstaple ( its somewhere in England), Collins told the manager of the club that yes he would play an "unofficial" game for his club, but because of contractual reasons he couldnt play for the top team (at the time he was contracted to the All blacks and the Hurricanes) so Jerry played for the Barnstaple second XV..... Anyway a couple of weeks later Collins was named in the Barbarians team to play South Africa at Twickenham, In accordance with Barbarians tradition, Collins wore the Socks of his club...Barnstaple.

I have very fond memories of watching him play for Ospreys, his arms were bigger than my legs.

It is such a shame though and my heart goes out ti his daughter. I know exactly what it is like to lose somebody so close to you, but that is another story, Jerry is playing rugby in heaven now, with his wife watching, I just hope their daughter gets all the love and attention she will now miss out from not having her loving parents around.

Absolutely tragic news. 

I was lucky enough to meet him a number of times when he was playing for the Ospreys and I was at university. Absolute gentleman and a real character. 

My heart goes out to his young daughter and the rest of his family. 

RIP.

Shocked, hope the little one pulls through. so sad.

That's a great story about the Barnstaple game. Shows the merit of the guy...

Sad to hear about his and his wifes loss. Hope his daughter pulls through.

Very sad news. I met him once and he was a gentleman. Thoughts with his family.

GeordieFalcon wrote:That's a great story about the Barnstaple game. Shows the merit of the guy...

Sad to hear about his and his wifes loss. Hope his daughter pulls through.

I remember the Devon story and how he played well within himself to be sure not to hurt anyone.

Great player, great guy!

looked like a pint of guinness, was often seen wandering around supermarkets or emptying bins, proper character!

Thoughts with the family and best wishes for his young daughter

Can only echo everyone else, such desperately sad news to read this morning, RIP Jerry and Alana, and praying for the baby

offload wrote:

GeordieFalcon wrote:That's a great story about the Barnstaple game. Shows the merit of the guy...

Sad to hear about his and his wifes loss. Hope his daughter pulls through.

I remember the Devon story and how he played well within himself to be sure not to hurt anyone.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/nov/01/rugbyunion.sport

Great story,you have to respect a guy who would be humble enough to do that just for the laugh.I love the part where the winger is diving for the line and Collins catches him in mid air.The story is probably embellished but he'll be remembered forever by the people who were there that day.

R.I.P.

Horrendous news, especially with an infant left behind.

Wonderful guy, a real gent.

Shocked to hear this news. Jerry Collins was always known as a gentleman off the pitch, a genuinely good guy. So sad to hear that his daughter has been orphaned. Thoughts are with her.

Shocking news. A great player and a great character. The rugby world is poorer for his passing.

RIP and thoughts with his daughter, friends and family.

Tragic news. Condolences to his family, especially the young daughter. Very sad.

very very sad and nothing much more to add. Only saw him the once when I had to slam on the brakes as he sprinted across the road in front of me in Mumbles once

Just back from the Hurricanes vs Highlanders game here in Napier, a very strange atmosphere. A cracking win for the 'Canes every point scored for Jerry. Many shocked faces and no real celebration after the game either. RIP Hitman.

Great shame. Only spent 2 yrs at the Ospreys but became one of the regions all time cult heroes. He accidentally dropped a pint over my bro in law one day. Apologised and bought him two back. Great bloke RIP

Awful news, absolutely awful. He was one of my favourite players when I first got into rugby.

What can I say that hasn't been said. Truly awful news and my prayers and thoughts are with his daughter and his family. Legend is an overused word in sport, but it perfectly describes him. His wearing of the Barnstaple socks to the Barbarians game is one of my favourite rugby moments. RIP

Breadvan wrote:Great shame. Only spent 2 yrs at the Ospreys but became one of the regions all time cult heroes. He accidentally dropped a pint over my bro in law one day. Apologised and bought him two back. Great bloke RIP

I bet your bro in law didn't make a big deal about it..!

RIP JC.

Certainly one of the great characters of rugby.

Horrible news. One of the toughest competitors I've witnessed on the rugby field - an absolute bull.

Hope the wee girl pulls through.

Poor fella. Poor wife. Poor child that must now live with the consequences.

The shock of so sudden a death always makes you realise that nobody knows when the show is over. So get busy living or get busy dying. The shame is that you forget the maxim a few days later and begin worrying again about little needless things in the big scheme of things.

Terrible news about Collins, his wife and his daughter. Thoughts are with is daughter. Hopefully she pulls through to full health.

I hope right now he is putting St Peter on his ass.

Beyond tragic. And a reminder to everyone, if your car breaks down, get the hell out of it.

RIP big man.

Genuinely saddened by this news - especially since it invoked his family too. The guy was a true legend of the game. Tragic.

Saddened by this news. RIP