Tue 9 Jun 2015 | 05:48
Touching Haka from Under 20's in honour of fallen hero Jerry Collins

6
Comments

In their U20 match against Argentina, the New Zealand juniors paid tribute to the late Jerry Collins, who tragically died in a car crash in France a few days ago. They performed a special prematch Haka, with direct reference to Collins and his family.

Former teammate of Collins with both the All Blacks and Hurricanes, Tana Umaga, was watching on from the sideline as he is part of the U20 coaching setup.

It will have been a tough few days for him personally, as he and the entire rugby community have mourned the loss of such a prominent figure. 

The young players were all too aware of the enormity of what happened, and performed this special Haka to honour a player who inspired so many, both on and off the field.

While to some it may just look like another variation of a Haka, what they actually said is what made it so touching. In the intro they made reference to Collins and his partner, and then they say Rest in Peace - 'moe moe ra, moe moe ra' in Maori.

There is also an acknowledgement of their baby, and they wish the fallen two to their final resting place. It's a beautiful personal message from the team, and one worth sharing.

Catch up on all the U20 World Championship Highlights here

credit: sky sport nz

6 Comments

  • sheldy85
    8:30 PM 15/06/2015

    Simply amazing!

  • upthejumper
    3:23 AM 12/06/2015

    Outstanding tribute to a great player. What a privilege for the Los Pumitas to receive it.

  • colombes
    3:29 PM 11/06/2015

    Byron Kelleher was also there

  • colombes
    3:28 PM 11/06/2015

    Touching is the word

    Here is another tribute by Tialata, Hayman, Williams and Masoe who performed a kamate on the road where the car accident occured...

    http://www.20minutes.fr/toulouse/1629271-20150611-mort-jerry-collins-haka-poignant-anciens-all-blacks-lieux-drame

  • stroudos
    8:08 AM 11/06/2015

    A wonderful tribute and a spine-tingling haka.

    Couple of other observations:
    - #3's haircut is just awful
    - 0:26 - I reckon this guy must be pretty popular with the ladies.

  • drg
    11:56 AM 10/06/2015

    Great video!

    I was just looking up the pictures of Chris Masoe with his hair bleached and in a few articles it shows Collins in flight with ball in hand, or making a tackle etc. It just dawned on me, there are quite a few pictures of him playing without a mouth guard. I know it sort of doesn't matter now and I'm not sure what point I am making (if any), but it's just interesting how some players choose not to wear them - or at least aren't wearing them in a fair few pictures.