Kangaroos prop Lindsay Collins vows to avenge Australia’s shock Pacific Championship title loss to New Zealand
The Kangaroos were embarrassed by New Zealand in the Pacific Championships final last year. Star prop Lindsay Collins has vowed to restore pride in green and gold jumper this time round.
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Star prop Lindsay Collins has pledged to restore pride in the green and gold jumper after conceding he failed to do the Australian colours proud in last year’s shock loss to New Zealand.
Sunday’s sellout clash in Christchurch will be Australia’s first chance since last November’s Pacific Championship final to avenge the 30-0 loss – which was the Kangaroo’s heaviest Test defeat ever.
Collins, by his own admission, produced an underwhelming performance from the bench for the Aussies running for just 54m and missing four tackles.
“Every time you put on those colours, you want to do that jersey proud and … I didn’t do the jersey proud last year. So we get an opportunity to rectify that this weekend,” Collins said.
“It wasn’t nice to be a part of … we’re moving forward, it’s in the past. We can’t dwell on the past too much, as clichéd as that is. We’ve got a new team here.”
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga responded to the loss in kind, wielding the axe for this year’s Pacific Championship squad dumping long-term incumbents Daly Cherry-Evans, Jake Trbojevic and even skipper James Tedesco.
Newcastle superstar Kalyn Ponga was left out entirely following the saga surrounding his perceived lack of commitment for the Kangaroos jumper.
But Meninga’s new-look outfit kicked-off Australia’s campaign with an 18-nil win over Tonga at Suncorp Stadium last weekend.
Collins rejected the suggestion that Australia will go into Sunday’s decisive clash against the Kiwis with the unfamiliar ‘underdogs tag’.
“I think that internally that pressure is still on (us), we are all professionals,” Collins said.
“We all want to be at our best and we all want to win.”
Collins is expecting the Kiwis pack to put a target on his back, much in the same way that Tongan big man Haumole Olakau’atu put a target on the his ribs at Suncorp Stadium in the opening match of the tournament.
Olakau’atu ironed out Collins with a bone rattling tackle in last Friday’s win.
Collins has recovered from any ill effects of the bruising tackle that left him in so much pain, he was throwing verbal barbs at coaching staff.
“Yeah, yeah it’s all good. It winded me,” Collins laughed.
“The physio came out and he told me I had to get up otherwise they were going to take me off.
“Through some explicits I told him, ‘How about you get hit by Haumole and see how you go?’
“But that’s footy, that my job. I know I’m going to get smashed, it’s inevitable.”
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