Share

Ex-All Blacks in haka tribute to Collins

Paris - A group of ex-New Zealand internationals performed a "haka" tribute on Thursday at the spot where former team-mate Jerry Collins was killed in a car crash last week.

Ali Williams, Carl Hayman, Neemia Tialata, Chris Masoe and Byron Kelleher ran barefoot and performed the famous All Blacks pre-match ritual on the road near the southern French town of Beziers where the accident took place.

Samoa-born Collins, who played second-tier French rugby with Narbonne last season, and his wife Alana Madill were killed when their car collided with a bus in the early hours of last Friday.

The video of the ex-All Black internationals doing the "haka" - the traditional Maori war dance performed by New Zealand's rugby union team before each international match - was posted on the Twitter account of Bayonne's Tialata.

It shows fellow French-based Kiwi players Masoe, Kelleher, Williams and Hayman paying homage to Collins, who won the last of his 48 caps in 2007 in their Rugby World Cup quarter-final defeat to France in Cardiff.

The couple's two-month old baby daughter Ayla remains in a critical condition in hospital in Montpellier following the accident.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should the Proteas pick Faf du Plessis for the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States in June?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Faf still has a lot to give ...
66% - 578 votes
No! It's time to move on ...
34% - 301 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE