Former All Blacks captain and back-row forward Jerry Collins has joined second-flight French club Narbonne as a stop-gap for the injured Rocky Elsom, the club said Monday.
Narbonne’s player-owner Elsom, a former Wallabies captain himself, has an injured shoulder that will sideline him for three months.
The 34-year-old Collins has played in France before, at Toulon in the 2008-2009 season, after seven seasons at Wellington.
Collins was most recently with Japanese outfit Yamaha Jubilo but after being arrested for carrying a carving knife, had been on a sabbatical year.
He captained the All Blacks three times and played his last international for them in 2008.