Dream come true for Saints centurion Collins

And you could forgive Tom Collins for doing exactly that this week as he gets set to hit a major Saints milestone.

The 26-year-old - yes Tom Collins is now 26! - will make his 100th Northampton appearance when his team travel to face Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate on Friday night.

It's not the run of form he would have liked to lead up to it - Saints have lost nine matches in a row in all competitions - but it is still a dream come true for the Academy graduate.

From making his debut in an LV= Cup match against Gloucester at Franklin's Gardens in January 2013 to now, it's been quite a journey for the Northampton-born back.

"It's crazy because I've been here for eight or nine years and getting my 100th appearance is great," Collins said.

"I've grown up watching this club and I can honestly say when I sat in the stands as a kid I could only have dreamed of getting to this stage.

"It's exciting and I'm just looking forward to getting out there with the boys at the weekend.

"I suppose the first five years here it was very difficult to get a game or a run of games and it's great to hit that 100 this weekend."

Collins can easily recall his debut, which ended in a 26-7 success for Saints against the Cherry and Whites.

"It was against Gloucester and I almost scored a try but got pulled back," he said.

"Soane (Tonga'uiha) made a little break with Lee Dickson and offloaded it to me and I went down the wing.

"It was a bit of a nightmare that it got ruled out but it is what it is."

Never mind, Collins has still managed to rack up 31 tries that did count during his Saints career so far, helping the club to win several trophies.

He played a key role during the sensational double-winning season of 2013/14, with a match against Leinster in that campaign standing out.

Collins was a late replacement for Dom Waldouck, starting as Saints went on to upset the odds with a stunning 18-9 win in Dublin.

"Scoring a few tries against Leicester is always good and then there's that Leinster game when I was 18 or 19," said Collins, when asked for his Saints highlights.

"I was supposed to be on the bench against Leinster but one of our centres went down and George North went to 13 and it pushed everyone around.

"Because I was thrown in at the deep end, I didn't have time to think about it.

"We got battered at home on the previous weekend and it was great to turn it around there."

When asked whether he looks back on moments like that to cheer himself up during tough times, Collins said: "You do.

"You get very caught in a bubble sometimes and you forget those good memories but it is important to keep them fresh in your head and remember the good times."

Saints are currently in the midst of a terrible run of form, one akin to what they experienced during the final months of 2017, when they lost 12 of 13 matches.

But Collins said: "There's a bit more positivity this time.

"Whenever you're losing games on the bounce it's always difficult to find that positivity but the atmosphere does feel better here this time.

"There's still trust and connection between the boys, which can be highlighted and pushed out when you're losing, but I don't feel like that has happened to us.

"The boys are positive about turning things around and these things don't last forever.

"There will be a time when we get some wins and our confidence will roll from there."

Collins has scored twice so far this season, swapping his glitzy yellow boots for black ones and rolling his sleeves up to dot down from two mauls.

So is he starting a shock transition into becoming a forward?

"No, I want to stay away from that!" Collins said, laughing.

"I just seem to find myself on the ball there sometimes.

"I don't know if I'll keep doing that but hopefully I'll get a few tries out wide as well this season.

"It's the first time I've ever worn black boots.

"I usually wear some yellow ones but I'm carrying on with the black ones."

Saints will have their work cut out against a free-flowing Bristol team on Friday night.

Collins said: "They're a tough team, they play wide wide and they've got a few of their big lads out.

"But although we've lost a few games, we've still got a positive mindset and that comes from having young lads in the team who are confident and ready to go.

"I don't like to say I'm old, but I am an older guy and it's a superb challenge.

"We're looking forward to going there and trying to turn things around.

"Everyone's doubting us but if we go there and beat Bristol away it's a huge win and it can turn our season around and you never know where we can be."