MICHAEL COLLINS could not have made a better debut for the Ospreys.
Two tries and a player of the match performance in the opening victory over the Dragons in the new United Rugby Championship is not a bad start in anyone’s book.
The centre, who qualifies for Wales through a Welsh grandfather, has impressed everyone since he arrived at the Swansea.com Stadium in the summer.
While his early performances have already led to talk of a Wales call up, Collins is very much focused on producing performances with the Ospreys.
"I guess I have always downplayed it a wee bit coming here but as an athlete you always want to be competitive against the best players in the world and put yourself in environments where you are challenging against top players in your area,” said Collins.
"As cliched as it is, for me it's about playing as well as I can for the Ospreys and buying into Toby and Brock James’ systems. If I fit in and doors open and I am good enough to go through them, then we will cross that bridge when we get to it."
Collins, who signed for the Ospreys from the New Zealand Super rugby side, the Highlanders, can play centre or full back and has already settled in with the squad and is enjoying his new environment.
“That’s probably a reflection of the people around you,” said Collins.
“As long as I understand what we are trying to achieve in our game-plan and our structure, I feel like I’m confident with what we are doing and there’s no need to panic.”
“I definitely want to be a midfielder. It suits me at the moment.
“It’s important to keep the 15 option there. I enjoy playing at full back and I enjoy the smaller arts, I guess, back there.
“Thirteen is definitely where I want to play, though, as long as I keep getting a few runs at 15 to keep that option open.”
This isn’t Collins’ first time in here in Wales but after his recent time in New Zealand, he reveals he always had planned to return here.
“I loved my time over here last time. Wales is a pretty special place and rugby mad. When I was younger I always had aspirations to play Super Rugby and if I had stayed here and not attempted to fulfil that goal I probably would have been holding onto a bit of regret.
"Going back I managed to tick off a few goals back in New Zealand and I knew I wanted to come back to Wales. I have looked a few times and Toby got in touch probably about a year ago and it has worked out well.”
Collins is under no illusions of the challenge ahead of him at the Ospreys, with the established and talented young centres all vying for a place in the team.
He has already established an on field partnership with Wales international, Owen Watkin, and is aware of the talents of Kieran Williams, Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler and Joe Hawkins.
"Owen Watkin is a great player,” he said.
“Then you have guys like Keiran and Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler here as well, so there are some bloody good quality midfielders at the Ospreys.
"Owen sees the game well and is a strong defender, so it's nice to build relationships like that because that was something I found challenging as I had been playing with a lot of people over the last few years."