Former All Blacks and Hurricanes team-mate Chris Masoe has paid tribute to his close friend Jerry Collins in unique fashion.
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The former All Black loose forward, 34, died instantly when his car and a bus collided on a motorway near Béziers in the Languedoc region of southern France.
Partner Alana Madill was also killed, and late last night the couple's 4-month-old daughter, Ayla, was in a critical condition in a hospital in Montpellier.
Playing for Toulon, another of Collins' former teams, in their French Top 14 semifinal clash with Stade Francais overnight, Masoe had the top of his hair bleached blonde in the exactly the same style Collins became well-known for.
Masoe also inscribed the message "R.I.P. JC. Love you brother" onto the tape on his lower right arm for the match and joined with a number of his Toulon team mates, including another former All Black forward Ali Williams, in posing for photos with a message saying "RIP brother. Jerry Collins. Gone but never forgotten. Love you bro".
The crash occurred as the family were driving on the A9 "autoroute" from Canet-en-Roussillon, where Collins had attended a testimonial banquet for Samoan rugby player Henry Tuilagi, who plays for Perpignan.
Béziers police commander Thierry Duffau told the Weekend Herald the accident happened at 3.10am (local time).
In Napier, as the news sank in before the match between the Hurricanes, for whom Collins played 74 times, and the Highlanders, members of both teams paid tribute to the 34-year-old.
Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph, who coached Collins at Wellington said: "It's really horrible, really sad. I guess for me he epitomises the word tough and the game of rugby, and I just really feel for his family."
In a Sky television interview, Hurricanes assistant coach Richard Watt said: "Can I just shout out to Frank Collins and the family, just from the boys. Jerry was one of the toughest guys who ever put this jersey on and we know that. We're going to play in his honour tonight. This is a shout out to his family - we're thinking about you and [you have our] love and prayers."
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