Collins not giving up Blues jersey just yet

Justin Collins

As an old dog, Justin Collins can't learn new tricks. But he does plan to teach them this season.

His body, after eight years of top-flight football, creaks a bit these days and isn't the perfectly honed machine it used to be. The brain, however, is loaded to the max, capable of delivering his less agile limbs to destinations those with bigger engines will never reach.

The young bucks vying for spots in the Blues back row - Jerome Kaino, Nick Williams, Tom Harding and Daniel Braid - will find Collins is not yet ready to live in their shadow.

The 30-year-old had surgery in August last year to correct a fibrillating heart. The condition sapped his famously impressive stamina and saw his form in 2004 dip below the levels we have come to expect.

But since returning to fulltime training eight weeks ago, the signs are encouraging that Collins can still be the most influential blindside in the Super 12 competition the way he was in 2003.

"I am feeling better than I have in the last 18 months," says Collins. "The passion is still there. Because of the way I was feeling physically, I felt I was letting people down. I was trying my guts out but couldn't really perform.

"Now I feel like I've got another chance. I am enjoying it because it is so much more comfortable doing exercise.

"If I'm going to relinquish the jersey I have had over the last few years, I don't want to do that too easily. Each time you have to earn your jersey, right from pre-season through to the final. I'll be looking from the first game to be getting hold of the jersey."

When he talks about his desire to win a starting spot, it's best not to think too hard about last season. He had to play much of the campaign at openside in the absence of the injured Daniel Braid. It was hardly the bone he wanted to be thrown when struggling for fitness and the disillusioned look when he was forced off early against the Reds in Brisbane said it all.

Which is why this season he says: "I want to push for that number six jersey. I have got some bad memories of some of my games at seven when my heart was a bit crook.

"I think that as coaches they will want to put their All Black in there but I don't care too much about that."

If the Blues coaching staff do see Kaino as their number one option, the youngster will need to be at the very top of his craft defensively. Kaino can run like a whippet and just about pass himself off as an outside back.

But blindsides are judged on their ability to handle the nasty stuff. Field a glamour boy at six and the structure starts to look shaky.

Collins simply doesn't miss tackles. It's a quality, along with his work ethic, that was at the core of the Blues success when they won the title in 2003.

"Justin would be one of the most professional players in the Auckland set-up," says Wayne Pivac, the former Auckland coach who also worked with Collins at Northland.

"He leads the defensive statistics every year, not just in tackles but also the accuracy of his defence. He also hits a lot of rucks. He's one of the great defensive players and one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. I don't think he has an enemy in the world."

And he's probably not got too much longer to make any enemies either. Collins is taking things year by year. He says he will definitely finish his career in New Zealand and is giving a lot of thought to moving into beef farming when he does call it quits.

Talk of retirement leads inevitably to the question of regret.

It's almost certain he will leave the game without a test cap. It's especially galling as Collins was at his peak in an era where they were handing black jerseys out like candy.

As you'd expect of rugby's Mr Nice Guy, Collins isn't stewing about being continually overlooked.

"I don't think I was unlucky. They picked the right guys. You always think in the back of your mind that you have a shot. But it never eventuated."

Maybe Collins let someone else deliver the telling blow.

"Justin will go down as one of the unluckiest players to never win a cap," says Pivac.

JUSTIN COLLINS

POSITION: FLANKER

HEIGHT: 1.94m

WEIGHT: 101kg

DOB: September 9 1974, Hobart, Tasmania

NPC TEAM: Auckland

PROVINCIAL CAPS: 117

PROVINCIAL DEBUT: 1995 v Counties (Northland)

SUPER 12 CAPS: 60

SUPER 12 POINTS: 30 (6t)

SUPER 12 DEBUT: 1998 v Crusaders (Chiefs)

Best moment outside rugby: The birth of daughter Ruby

Favourite food: Lamb chops