You can't needle hardman Jerry

Jerry Collins has a reputation as an intimidating player but there's much more to his game than big hits. Cameron Spencer / Getty Images

Jerry Collins shares his name with a famous tattoo artist who plied his trade around Hawaii after World War II.

But should the Hurricanes take out the inaugural Super 14 title tomorrow, there is no way Collins will get any permanent body art reminder of that triumph.

The blindside flanker has no limits on the punishment he puts his body through on the rugby field but he balks at using his body as a needlework canvas.

"The pain would be too much for me," the renowned hardman says.

"I'm not the sort of person who needs to get enjoyment out of pain, who gets a buzz that way. I play sport for enjoyment and there are some knocks in that but nothing like getting a tattoo.

"There are guys in our team like Lome [Fa'atau], Ma'a [Nonu], Rodney [So'oialo] and Neemia [Tialata], who have enough tattoos for all of us. I'd worry about getting one and then not liking it."

Collins is in an expressive mood before tomorrow's match with the Crusaders at Jade Stadium, there is no hint he is getting uptight about the Hurricanes' first foray into a final.

Playfully, he wonders who this writer will tip to take out the title after ignoring the Hurricanes in their semifinal. Time for the next question.

How will he deal with the day, what routines will he observe?

There will be no drama about motivation or getting out of bed for the game. Being in the final was all the inspiration the Hurricanes needed.

"This is what rugby is all about, the big games, the real challenges," says Collins. "We have to treat it as a one-off game and make sure we throw the kitchen sink at it and the neighbour's and anyone else's we can get hold of.

"The biggest worry in a game like this is that some guys watch it, they just look at it unfold and in a blink it is gone and they wonder what has happened. You have to be in the moment, you have to be switched on."

For Collins, that kicks in when a match official bangs on the door of the Hurricanes changing room to tell them they have a few minutes before they are needed out on the ground.

"That is when I get the blinkers on, when I get my game head going," Collins explains.

The 25-year-old loose forward will watch television until a couple of hours before the game, shower and board the bus for the journey through suburban Christchurch.

"I'll look out the window and wave to people. I'm not a Walkman guy or someone who zombies out or whatever.

"As professionals there is a tendency for us to look serious when we are on our way to the ground but it does not hurt or affect my preparation. I'm one of those people who can interact with the fans, I am pretty relaxed while most of the others are pretty stern.

"When I get into the changing room I will joke and chat. Over the years I have tried all sorts of things and everyone has different ways of doing the business. I'm all for whatever works for you but find it is pretty good to be relaxed."

After a number of seasons together, the Hurricanes have the advantage of knowing how each other ticks, which players like their space and who is fairly amiable until referee Jonathan Kaplan starts the game.

"Tana is not bad," says Collins. "He listens to his music but you can always tap him on the shoulder and have a chat. He is cool like the majority of the guys."

On the field, though, things are different.

Collins has a reputation for the hard edge to his play, for adding the sort of physical presence which former All Black enforcer captain Buck Shelford admires.

"Collins is an intimidating player," Shelford says in assessing the All Black loose forward stocks.

It's a compliment Collins accepts but with an assessment that it is earned from the way the Hurricanes pack performs. He claims his game face is very different from his off-the-field demeanour.

"It is, really. But the worst thing is having a reputation for being mean. Like the time my aunty had her kids with her and they were afraid to shake my hand because they thought I would eat one of them. It is one of those things, I have no say over what people think."

He has chuckled at the "bouncers" tag bestowed on himself, So'oialo and Chris Masoe by Australian broadcasters who suggested if that trio were on a nightclub door no one would get in improperly dressed.

"My style has changed in the past few years," says Collins, who has added deft passing, kicking and evasion skills to the range of brutal core techniques he delivers.

"The longer you stay in this game, the more perceptions change," he says.

That is reflected in the range of nicknames he has acquired since his NPC debut in 1999 and subsequent Super and All Black debuts in 2001. At various stages, Collins has been dubbed Granite, the Panther, JC, Batman, Hardman and Yellowman (which is a current moniker bestowed by Masoe).

Collins says the changes in his game have occurred through time in the team. Young players worry a great deal about holding their place in a side and focus on a low error rate.

"But we are in an environment where mistakes are part of the game. I find now I am not too hard on myself, I have learned not to worry too much about the consequences. It is all to do with the rapport you have with your teammates.

"You are doing things because you are trying to make things happen and the people you work for will understand that."

Collins had to rely on some understanding from the Hurricanes management early this season when he and teammate Lome Fa'atau clashed at a nightclub in Bloemfontein.

"Families have arguments, brothers argue and it could be in public or around the corner out of sight," Collins says.

"The next day we had a beer together. It was nothing personal, it was all about timing."

Whatever happens tomorrow, Collins will share a few beers with his Crusader rivals.

"All the teams in New Zealand, they are good blokes. When we are playing there are no friends out on the field but afterwards that changes."

Collins hopes to be installed again in the All Black squad on Sunday but has not thought too much about some rest then or next year in the Super 14 player rotation scheme mooted by national coach Graham Henry.

"It will be the biggest year in the calendar and is only one year out of four.

"You have to go with the flow and I can see reasons for it. I am very competitive, though, and I'm not taking anything for granted. I might suffer a loss of form and might not qualify for a rest. At the end of the day the calls come from the boss."