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Welsh-qualified Highlanders star Michael Collins lifts the lid on his move to Ospreys
He might be qualified to play international rugby for Wales, but Highlanders star Michael Collins isn’t listening to the external noise surrounding a possible future in the test arena.
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Talk of the experienced 27-year-old, who also qualifies for England through his mother’s side of the family, donning the famous red jersey has spiked in the wake of last week’s announcement of his two-year deal with PRO14 club Ospreys.
Eligible to play for Wayne Pivac’s side via his Welsh-born grandfather, plenty of media outlets, including this one, were quick to identify Collins’ British heritage upon confirmation of his upcoming move to Swansea.
After all, the utility back, who can cover the midfield and at fullback, would hardly be the first Kiwi, or foreigner, to be plucked from abroad and make a name for himself as an adopted Welshman.
For example, Tongan-born No 8 Taulupe Faletau and New Zealand-born midfielder Willis Halaholo both featured for Wales in their most recent Six Nations campaign earlier this year.
Other Kiwis, such as ex-Crusaders wing Johnny McNicholl, former Blues and Chiefs playmaker Gareth Anscombe and World Cup midfielder Hadleigh Parkes, have all featured for the Celtic nation in recent years.
It comes as no surprise, then, to see Collins tipped by some to follow in the footsteps of other Welsh-New Zealanders, but the man himself isn’t buying into those suggestions.
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“That’s just an easy headline for media to write, to be honest,” Collins told RugbyPass earlier this week as he prepared for the Highlanders’ long-haul trip to Perth to face the Western Force this weekend.
“Even the last one you wrote, I think it started with something to do with all that stuff, and it’s easy to grab and I understand it’s all part and parcel,” he added, referencing a story published last August.
“I thought the article you wrote was awesome, but it had nothing to do with Wales or England, so I’m just at that side of it.
“For me, it’s just going to play well for Ospreys, trying to contribute to them and see how that goes.”
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Fair enough, then.
But, although Collins is playing down his chances of international selection for Wales, it’s easy to understand why those projections have been made.
Western Force lock Jeremy Thrush has vowed to “piss a few people off” during the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition, and he’s keen to roll around again next year too. #SuperRugbyTT #FORvHIG https://t.co/H4G543YeMN
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 19, 2021
Rock solid at all levels of the game in New Zealand, Ospreys have landed themselves an extremely dependable player who has established himself as a superb communicator, distributor, organiser and leader in the backline.
Those traits will become particularly valuable in the PRO14, where it isn’t uncommon for teams to do it tough and grind out gritty wins in the depths of the European winter.
With that in mind, though, the offer to join Ospreys particularly stood out to Collins due to the positive brand of rugby implemented by head coach Toby Booth, something that goes against many preconceptions of Northern Hemisphere rugby.
“I think the coaching set-up is pretty good with Toby there. I looked a bit into him and he seems like he’s got a pretty good culture and I think a lot of players like playing for him, which is a start,” said Collins, who will be joined at the club by Highlanders and Otago teammate Jack Regan.
“They’re a young team, so they’re going to be improving the whole time, but the way they’re trying to play is a bit more positive, and that’s something that appealed.
“I think the way he talked about how the midfielders play and the role he wants them to do is certainly what I want to try and do, as a distributor and an organiser, and impact the game when you can.
“Being in Wales before, it’s a cool place, and that Swansea area is pretty neat, so it all just fitted together and I just thought it was the right move at the time. Time will tell if it is or not.”
As Collins alluded to, this won’t be his first spell in Wales.
After four seasons toiling away in New Zealand’s provincial scene for his beloved Otago, the then-22-year-old set off to Llanelli to join Scarlets on a short-term deal during the 2015-16 season.
Having never previously secured a Super Rugby contract, his time at Parc y Scarlets was his first gig as a full-time professional player.
The Highlanders will welcome back two of their All Blacks stars for their Super Rugby Trans-Tasman clash against the Western Force in Perth on Friday. #SuperRugbyTT #FORvHIG https://t.co/Mw4LhJsFxH
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 19, 2021
When he spoke to RugbyPass last year, Collins described his time with Scarlets as “one of the best things I’ve definitely done” as it opened his eyes to what’s required of a full-time professional.
Since then, he went on to play 29 times across three seasons for the Blues, starting from fullback in their famous win over the British and Irish Lions in 2017, and has now amassed 16 caps for the Highlanders since last year.
The former New Zealand Schools and New Zealand U20 representative has also won the Ranfurly Shield three times since his Otago debut as a teenager in 2012, with his two most recent Shield successes coming as captain in 2018 and 2020.
With that much experience to his name, Ospreys fans can expect Collins to feature heavily over the next two years, even if COVID-19 wreaks havoc with cross-border travel in the soon-to-be PRO16, which will feature the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers out of South Africa.
That hasn’t dismayed Collins from opting to pack his bags and move to the other side of the world in the midst of a global pandemic.
It’s a big call given how isolated New Zealand has been from the virus, especially in comparison to the United Kingdom, but Collins is confident he’s made the right decision.
“I don’t think we even understand it over here as much as we probably think we do,” he said.
“I’ve got a brother in London who’s done it pretty tough for the last year or so, so there’s that side of it, and then the other side of it is I didn’t want it to affect your life too much.
“It would have been easy to sit here for a couple of years and try to go in a couple of years when everything is normal, but it’s a risk.
“If it pays off, sweet. If it doesn’t, at least I’ve given it a shot.”
Before all of that, though, there is a Super Rugby Trans-Tasman title to play for with the Highlanders.
The Hurricanes have welcomed back Ngani Laumape from a rest week ahead of their upcoming clash against the Melbourne Rebels in Wellington on Friday. #SuperRugbyTT #HURvREB https://t.co/ohrFqxmFMz
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 19, 2021
After starting in last week’s competition-opening 40-19 drubbing of the Queensland Reds in Dunedin, Collins has again been named to start in the midfield, a position he wants to specialise in, against the Force at HBF Park this weekend.
Trailing the league-leading Blues only by points difference, the Highlanders are already in a strong position to push for their first title since 2015.
The Trans-Tasman round-robin lasts just five weeks before the top two sides play in a one-off final on June 19, meaning every victory is crucial to a team’s championship chances.
Signing off on his Highlanders career with a trophy would be the perfect end to Collins’ time in New Zealand, especially after the franchise’s subpar Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign, which was plagued by on-field inconsistency and off-field drama.
“We obviously showed we could foot it with the best with the Crusaders and Blues and the Chiefs. We just lacked consistency,” Collins said of the all-Kiwi league.
“We couldn’t back up two performances, so I guess that’s the opportunity that we’ve managed to create this weekend by beating the Reds.
“We’ve got the opportunity to back it up and have a good performance this week.”
Victory over the Force in front of their boisterous home crowd, however, won’t come easy.
The Chiefs found that out last week when they relied on Domingo Miotti’s unsuccessful sideline conversion attempt after the full-time siren to get them over the line in a tight 20-19 win in Western Australia.
“They were bloody good. I think if you look at them, they’re a bit like us at the Highlanders,” Collins said.
“They’re sort of a bunch of misfits that have come from all other bits of the country and then they come together and they love it, they have a good time, they play for each other, they have an awesome crowd over there, obviously a wicked culture.
“They’ve got a few older heads scattered through, so they’re pretty good in those tight situations, so I guess the way they’re playing is pretty good.”
#ICYMI: Crusaders forwards coach Jason Ryan has re-committed to the club, announcing on Wednesday that he has signed a long-term deal with New Zealand Rugby.https://t.co/qvBxBQFIZb
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 19, 2021
After this week, home matches against the Melbourne Rebels in Queenstown, where Collins originally hails from, and Waratahs in Dunedin are followed by an away trip to the Brumbies in Canberra.
Should the Highlanders fail to reach the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman final, those fixtures against the Rebels and Waratahs may be Collins’ final matches on Kiwi soil as he won’t be available for Otago’s NPC season.
“I’m going over in late July. I’ve got a brother over there in London at the moment. I haven’t seen him in a while obviously, so I’m going to go a week or two early and go and play some golf with him somewhere and just hang out with him, which will be nice.
“It’ll be summer over there, unlike in Dunedin, but, unfortunately, one of the downsides was not being able to play for Otago, but hopefully I’ll be back at some stage.”
Although he hasn’t ruled out a return to New Zealand at some point down the line, Collins already has memories aplenty to look back on during his time with the Blues, Highlanders and Otago.
“When I was younger, it was always a dream to play Super Rugby, or it was a big goal, and so if I didn’t come back [from Scarlets] and try give it a real big crack, I would have just left holding onto something, so to come back and for Tana [Umaga, ex-Blues head coach] to give me a shot was pretty special.
“I just chipped away the last five years and had some pretty enjoyable moments with pretty good people too, so I’m definitely leaving pretty happy, looking back with pretty good memories rather than anything sour, which is good.”
Whether Collins makes similarly fond memories up north remains to be seen, but could the best memory of all be running out into Principality Stadium in a red jersey, singing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau in front of 74,500 Welsh fans?
“I’m not going to comment on that,” Collins said through a wry smile.
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Comments on RugbyPass
An on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
10 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
10 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
10 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to comments