Banned Collins out of Tri-Nations decider
Collins was cited for punching replacement Springboks fly-half Jaco van der Westhuyzen after a brawl broke out following a scrum in Saturday’s match in Dunedin.
A judiciary committee found Collins’ punching was excessive and disproportionate to the threat from the opponent and banned him from all rugby until September 10, ruling him out of next Saturday’s deciding Test in Auckland.
The committee noted Collins was one of the principal protagonists during the brawl and continued to punch van der Westhuyzen while the South African was on the ground.
Collins has been suspended on three previous occasions, in each case the offences related to reckless and dangerous tackles.
The player favoured to take Collins’ place in the All Blacks starting lineup on Saturday is Waikato loose forward Sione Lauaki, who wasn’t needed off the reserve bench against the Springboks. Lauaki made his debut for the All Blacks in the third Test against the British and Irish Lions last month.
In the game itself Kevan Mealamu’s late winning try sealed victory after some superb mauling work from his fellow forwards.
The Springboks remain without a win at Carisbrook, but of more concern to coach Jake White will be the defeat which hands impetus to Graham Henry and his men.
Victory for the All Blacks over Australia in Auckland next week will see the South African reign as Tri-Nations champions ended and the trophy handed over to New Zealand.
White said: “I’m proud of my side. There were a number of players out there who were playing Colts rugby only three years ago, so it bodes well for South African rugby.
“It would have been nice to fight back and grab a draw, but when you’re playing the best team in the world, that’s what happens.”
There were five tries in a mesmerising first half, where the All Blacks looked to have opened up a comfortable half-time lead before Enrico Januarie’s opportunist effort closed the gap.
Joe Rokocoko scored twice for the All Blacks while Bryan Habana scored yet another interception try.
The Springboks were rampant in the opening exchanges of the second period but their dominance was only rewarded with a 51st-minute Montgomery kick.
MacDonald padded New Zealand’s cushion to 24-20 after an hour with another three-pointer, but South Africa’s famed perseverance became apparent once more.
Januarie was once again quickest to the ball, intercepting a stray Jerry Collins pass and feeding Jaque Fourie to score under the posts, setting up an easy conversion.
With the title slipping away and with just with five minutes to go, Mealamu scored to give New Zealand the victory.
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