Our Michael wings it in Japan
Michael Collins at last weekend's game between the Wakatipu Premiers — whom he's played for just once, when they lifted the White Horse Cup off Arrowtown in 2019 — and Maniototo. PHOTO: PHILIP CHANDLER
What a time to play your first game on the right wing.
Usually a centre or fullback, longtime Queenstown rugby pro Michael Collins wore the No14 jersey for the first time this month — for his Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo team in the final of Japan's League One comp in which they beat Kubota Spears 18-13 to claim back-to-back titles.
The 32-year-old, who's just finished his second season with the team and has signed on for two more, says he'd only played wing once before, for the same team last year, in his 14-year professional career.
He took the spot due to injuries to a couple of good Japanese wingers, and because they had a spare place for a foreign player.
As in his first season, Collins played more games off the bench than he started in because teams are restricted to four foreigners.
He notes Toshiba's already blessed with three internationals — including former All Black stars Richie Mo'unga and Shannon Frizell — "and then often there's a foreign lock because that's where you get your height from".
"You sort of just bide your time, and when you get the chance to play you play."
He confirms Mo'unga, man of the match in the final despite a broken right hand, and Frizell "are a big part of why the team's had success".
Collins, who's formerly played for Otago, the Blues, the Highlanders and two Welsh clubs, says the standard of the Japanese comp is "really high".
"It's impressive how physical Japanese players are."
Most teams also field strong overseas talent, he adds — "you get to test yourself against top athletes in the world".
Collins says he still enjoys rugby, and Japan, and lives in "sort of central-ish" Tokyo with his partner.
He was also thrilled his dad Kelvin and brother Rhys could make the final, which drew 50,000-plus to Tokyo's National Stadium.
He says his body's still "there or thereabouts, obviously not what it was when you were 22", and, touch wood, he's been lucky with injuries.
"Hopefully we'll try to keep playing as long as we can."
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Otago Daily Times
29 minutes ago
- Otago Daily Times
Obituary: teacher and rugby pied piper
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It illustrates how Diack, the first player to earn 100 caps for Otago and a one-test All Black, was something of a Pied Piper figure — in the most positive manner possible — in the rugby community. People sought him out for a chat, either to tap into his immense rugby knowledge or simply to soak up the mana of a man who gave back much more than he took from the sport. He was a wonderful player but he was also a coach, a mentor, a sounding board, an administrator and a near-constant presence on the sidelines of Otago University, Otago and Highlanders rugby. "Tup was a wonderful man and a true friend," Smith recalled. "He was an amazing rugby player but he was far, far more than that. He was kind, modest — a real gentleman. "He was so well respected wherever he went and gave his time to everyone he came in contact with." Smith recalls watching Diack "weave his magic on the wing" at Carisbrook before getting a taste of Diack's generosity. After scoring a couple of tries for Kaikorai and converting them himself, Smith was selected in an Otago second grade team and unexpectedly advised he would be handling the goal-kicking duties. He called "Mr Diack", who was teaching at John McGlashan College, and the former All Black promptly gave Smith an hour-long session on the intricacies of kicking rugby goals. Smith later served as Otago and Highlanders manager for eight years and recalls Diack barely missing a training session as an interested observer. "The players loved him being there, and he became part of our teams. His understanding of the technical side of back play was incredible." Diack served as Otago Rugby Football Union president in 2005, and he and Smith spent many an enjoyable Saturday heading around the region. "The people in the country just loved to see Tuppy. He was like a magnet in the clubrooms after the game. "Many of those people used to stand on the terrace or sit in the stand at Carisbrook and watch him playing for Otago." Diack, who died in Dunedin on May 16, aged 94, played six games for Southland in 1954 but was otherwise exclusively seen in Otago blue in provincial rugby. He played 101 games for Otago between 1951 and 1964 as a goal-kicking, strong-running winger who was described by late ODT sports editor Brent Edwards as the "pin-up boy" of the province. There were highlights aplenty, including a Ranfurly Shield victory over Wellington in 1957, helping Otago tame the Lions in 1959, three consecutive selections for the South Island, and 18 appearances for New Zealand Universities, including a famous victory over the 1956 Springboks. In 1959, Diack scored two tries and kicked two conversions and a penalty for the Universities side against the Lions, and when he kicked four penalties and a conversion in Otago's 26-8 win over the Lions, he finally heard his name read out in the All Blacks over the radio. Fate played a cruel hand when he was ruled out of the first test at his beloved Carisbrook with an ankle injury sustained in Otago's game against the tourists. "I was usually able to run off an injury but this one got worse," Diack recalled years later. "The pain was excruciating. It was the only major injury of my career, and it was a bit of a sad end to what had been a wonderful week." Diack got an All Black jersey and a framed photograph for being selected, but had to watch from the Carisbrook grandstand as the All Blacks beat the Lions 18-17 thanks to the boot of Don Clarke. He had intensive treatment on his ankle ligaments and was named in the team for the second test in Wellington, only to find another complication as he and Ralph Caulton were both specialist left wings. Diack drew the short straw to play on the right, Caulton scored two tries in an 11-8 win, and the Otago man did not play in the third and fourth tests as the ankle was still not right. He trained like a man possessed over the summer and regained his top-line pace, and it was a blow when he missed selection for the All Blacks' 1960 tour of South Africa. "I was really disappointed to miss out. I thought I could have made a difference on that tour." Diack, All Black No 602, bowed out of top rugby aged 34 in 1964, having scored 53 tries and 706 points in 146 first-class games. Ernest Sinclair Diack was born in Invercargill on July 22, 1930. He was the eldest of four children to teachers Ernest (known as Charlie) and Molly Diack. The nickname emerged at the age of 10 months. Ernest junior had no pet name to distinguish himself from his father and grandfather (also Ernest). His father came home one day, looked in the baby's crib and said, "Poor little Tuppence hasn't got a name." And Tup, or Tuppy, stuck. When he was a toddler, his father — who played rugby for Southland, New Zealand Universities and Marlborough, and coached Southland to Ranfurly Shield success — was seconded to Havelock then Wellington then Koromiko, where he started school. At 7, the family shifted back to Invercargill for his father to teach at North School. Two years later, the family shifted to Napier, where Diack started at Napier Boys' High School, playing for the First XI cricket team as a third former. When Diack was 15, the family moved to Pukerau, near Gore, where Ernest sen was headmaster at Pukerau School. There were not enough bedrooms in the house, so Diack's bedroom was a tent with a wooden floor and wooden sides in the back yard. He finished his schooling at Gore High School, where he was head prefect, captain of the cricket team, vice-captain of the rugby team, athletics champion and regimental sergeant-major of the cadets. Diack stayed at Knox College to begin a teaching degree in Dunedin, but returned to Pukerau every holidays to work as a hay contractor and farmer's hand. The story goes that, while tossing bales of hay on to a trailer, he counted each one because he was paid a halfpenny for two bales. His total when he finished was over a million bales — a record which Southlanders say stands to this day. After graduating in 1954, he started a masters in history so he could continue playing rugby for his beloved Otago University club. He later played for Zingari-Richmond, and played his last game at the age of 39. While the legacy of his rugby career included four hip replacement operations and two knee replacements, the sport remained a great love. Diack was a New Zealand Universities selector for 13 years and coached an NZU team to Japan, he coached the Otago University Gold colts into his late 70s, and he continued to mentor student goal kickers at a club where he was more than just a life member — he was an institution. "I've always been involved with the University club, and working with 18 to 20-year-olds keeps you on your toes. You get all the bad publicity about students but I don't buy it." Diack was nearing the end of his school days when he met Margaret Potter, a farmer's daughter from Pukerau, whom he married in Gore on December 11, 1954. They bought their first home in Dunedin that same year, and both initially taught at primary schools, Diack at Caversham and his wife at Kaikorai, before sons Kim (1963) and Shane (1965) and daughter Philippa (1968) were born. The family settled in Forbury Rd, which was to remain their home for over 50 years. A passion project was Margaret's garden full of fuschias — some 150 different varieties, regularly shown off to gardening groups and passers-by — while many happy holidays and summers were spent at a crib in Otematata. His daughter said Diack found a perfect partner in Margaret. "They absolutely loved one another. Everybody tells me they were just such a team," Philippa said. "They had intellectual conversations. Dad read the paper, cover to cover, and they'd have good conversations about politics and about sport. Mum loved her rugby too. She understood the game. "He was a great dad. He was always keen to see us get ahead and do well, and he encouraged us academically and, particularly, with sport." Diack taught at John McGlashan from 1961 to 1988. He taught geography, social studies and physical education, spent 13 years as deputy principal, and coached both the cricket and rugby teams. Deerstalking and shooting — both black powder and smallbore — were interests outside rugby, and he also became a keen golfer. "You always hear about top sportspeople and their top two inches, and Dad was like that," his daughter said. "He had that mentality. He gave it everything he had." The Diacks had been happily married for 68 years when Margaret died in 2023. Tuppy Diack is survived by children Kim, Shane and Philippa, and grandchildren Libby, Morgan, Madison, Ruby and Charlotte. — Hayden Meikle
Otago Daily Times
17 hours ago
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Our Michael wings it in Japan
Michael Collins at last weekend's game between the Wakatipu Premiers — whom he's played for just once, when they lifted the White Horse Cup off Arrowtown in 2019 — and Maniototo. PHOTO: PHILIP CHANDLER What a time to play your first game on the right wing. Usually a centre or fullback, longtime Queenstown rugby pro Michael Collins wore the No14 jersey for the first time this month — for his Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo team in the final of Japan's League One comp in which they beat Kubota Spears 18-13 to claim back-to-back titles. The 32-year-old, who's just finished his second season with the team and has signed on for two more, says he'd only played wing once before, for the same team last year, in his 14-year professional career. He took the spot due to injuries to a couple of good Japanese wingers, and because they had a spare place for a foreign player. As in his first season, Collins played more games off the bench than he started in because teams are restricted to four foreigners. He notes Toshiba's already blessed with three internationals — including former All Black stars Richie Mo'unga and Shannon Frizell — "and then often there's a foreign lock because that's where you get your height from". "You sort of just bide your time, and when you get the chance to play you play." He confirms Mo'unga, man of the match in the final despite a broken right hand, and Frizell "are a big part of why the team's had success". Collins, who's formerly played for Otago, the Blues, the Highlanders and two Welsh clubs, says the standard of the Japanese comp is "really high". "It's impressive how physical Japanese players are." Most teams also field strong overseas talent, he adds — "you get to test yourself against top athletes in the world". Collins says he still enjoys rugby, and Japan, and lives in "sort of central-ish" Tokyo with his partner. He was also thrilled his dad Kelvin and brother Rhys could make the final, which drew 50,000-plus to Tokyo's National Stadium. He says his body's still "there or thereabouts, obviously not what it was when you were 22", and, touch wood, he's been lucky with injuries. "Hopefully we'll try to keep playing as long as we can."
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Arrowtown's timely return to form
Wakatipu Premiers hooker Thomas Hulsman, pictured in action against Matakanui Combined recently, is among a group of young players the team's successfully blooded this season. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Following a convincing away win over Cromwell last weekend, the Arrowtown rugby side's fizzing for this Saturday's home-ground 'Battle of the Basin' game against Wakatipu. Arrowtown beat Cromwell 29-7 to clinch just their second win of the year after their season-opening thrashing of Matakanui Combined in March. It also came after the teams had drawn their first-round fixture. "The boys showed a bit of grit on Saturday," says captain Ryan Egerton, who didn't play due to a "buggered" knee. "She was one of the better 23-man performances I've seen from the Arrowtown Bulls. "Everyone that came on from the bench played a good role and, yeah, we scored some pretty good meat pies, to be fair." Coming after a deflating loss to Alexandra, "it's definitely given the boys a bit of confidence," Egerton adds. "We definitely needed it for morale, because, yeah, the boys were hurting after loss after loss." He was also expecting the prospect of a Battle of the Basin game to provide "a bit of fizz" at training this week. "I'm sure we'll be up for it, and hopefully we can get a heap of people down at the Jack Reid and put on a good show." Wakatipu Premiers coach Jordan Manihera, whose team touched up Arrowtown 48-19 in the first round, says he's pleased to hear of Arrowtown's good result "through the gorge", and certainly won't be taking them for granted despite their 7-2 win-loss record this season. "It's a great rivalry to have, and how the comp's been this year, anything can happen if one team turns up and plays better than their opposite number on the day. "So we're treating this game, as we do every week, with some good preparation. "We're back to a full contingent, so back to getting the old migraine with selections, but, you know, it's a good problem to have, so we're really looking forward to ripping into it." Manihera's also hoping for good ground conditions after playing on a heavy track at the Queenstown Rec Ground these past two Saturdays — Waka last weekend beat Maniototo 29-13, but only after upping their intensity over the final 20 minutes. They're deliberately bringing some experienced players like Don Lolo and Paulie Tuala off the bench, the coach says. "We've kind of found we were staying in the fight for a good 50 to 60 minutes every game, but then we're just sort of losing a bit of composure and experience towards the end." With Wakatipu third on the table, one point behind Alexandra, and with just two rounds to go after this weekend, expect them to be chasing a bonus point win this Saturday to try to nail down a home semifinal.
