Character is said to be how you treat people who can’t do anything for you in return.
And so to Jerry Collins during his time as a rugby player in Wales. A fascinating story has emerged from US Eagles wing Ryan Matyas, whom Collins befriended after a chance meeting at Tondu rugby club, for whom the American was playing as a youngster. The pair became mates, meeting up on Wednesdays and Sundays to hang out together, off day days for the pair.
And the American abroad bore witness to the famed generosity of the 48-cap All Black who had started his working career as a binman in Wellington. “One time we were leaving a restaurant and there was a homeless guy on the ground with no shoes and Jerry literally takes off his shirt, takes off his socks, takes off his shoes, takes off his beanie, opens up his wallet, hands him a wad of cash and his jacket and everything,” said Matyas in a new RugbyPass documentary, Where Eagles Dream.
