Collins entered the professional ranks when coaches were becoming obsessed with explosive power. Across New Zealand and Australia - the whole rugby world - everyone wanted a genuine enforcer in their No 6 shirt.
Coaches wanted men who could change the momentum of a test with one tackle. They wanted at least one hard nut who could inflict doubt in the opposition - someone who could make ball-runners conscious of which channels they would be brave enough to attack.
To fulfil the role, the athlete had to be fearless. They had to be capable of high impact rather than constant impact. Enter Collins, a man with an unparalleled capacity to make his presence felt, whose reputation was earned and never lived off.
The first major announcement he made was in June 2003, when he lined up Welsh hard man Colin Charvis and bent, then broke him.
Even now the video footage still induces an involuntarily wince. Charvis, even if he hadn't been knocked out, wouldn't have fancied getting up and playing on that night.
The following year, it was Chris Jack who felt the full force of Collins. The All Blacks lock was in full flight and didn't see Collins. There was a clear winner in the collision and Jack was knocked out and shaken. The legend of Collins firmed a little more that day, as it did when the All Blacks went to South Africa in 2005.
There were two tests in Cape Town - the 14-a-side contest between the All Blacks and Springboks and the one-on-one, bone-crunching game played between Collins and Schalk Burger.
These two were oblivious to the game around them as they literally took lumps out of each other. It was probably a draw but Collins did time one hit perfectly and became maybe the only man in the world to have ever dominated Burger in a tackle.
Three years later, when Burger came to Wellington only two weeks after Collins' surprise departure to France, he joked: "He was one of a kind, a tough man. I'm definitely not going to miss him."
Sebastien Chabal was the other major victim of Collins' venom. The Frenchman, who won his World Cup place on the tour to New Zealand just months before the 2007 tournament, had clobbered Chris Masoe and Ali Williams. Not keen to be upstaged, Collins exacted stunning retribution with a tackle that sent Chabal reeling.
A young Kaino had to bide his time during the Collins years, but what an education he received. Kaino learned all he needed to know about positional expectation watching Collins.
He learned the value of physical presence and crushing defence. He learned the need to be imposing and own opponents. If he wanted to win respect from his peers, he'd need to give as much as Collins did.
What Collins lived long enough to see was a generation of young men hoping to be just like him.
Since Collins retired from test duty, there has been a procession of Samoan-Kiwis desperate to emulate the original.
Kaino, Victor Vito, Steven Luatua and now Akira Ioane. The best way they can pay their respects is to pull off a few tackles that stand comparison with the unforgettable Collins.
