WORCESTER have sign-ed some big name players and internationals this season yet have experienced the triumph and tragedy prop Andy Collins has witnessed at Twickenham.

For the 25-year-old former Bristol and Pontypridd forward, who moved the Sixways this week, has experienced both winning and losing in the Oxford v Cambridge Varsity match.

Some 60,000 people watched last season's Oxford defeat while 55,000 saw Collins and the Dark Blues take revenge 12 months later.

Put bluntly they stand out as the peak and trough of his career so far.

"The first was the worst experience I've had and the second was the best," he said.

"It's a fantastic experience the whole thing, starting from the build-up when you meet for the first time. It's the whole package including building team in such a short time period."

Oxford's victory in December ended Cambridge's dominance of the match since the early 90s and the history made Collins cherish the moment.

"The defeat the year before certainly enhanced the sense of achievement," he added.

"A few of the guys came into the team this year and thought what's the big deal but if you've lost you know how bad it feels how, awful it really is.

"The result of that match determines whether your season is a success or failure. You can win that match, lose all the others and it's regarded as a good season. It's a strange club where it all depends on the result of just one match."

Collins has been signed after a weekend when five of Worcester's prop forwards were injured and unavailable and he will add flexibility to the quad.

"I can play either side of the scrum loose or tight head I'm not bothered," he added. "Tight head is my stronger side but I'm flexible and have played both during the last two seasons."

Collins is studying an MPhil in social anthropology -- a course he describes as a study of society and which he completes in the summer.

But he will not be looking for full-time contract after graduation, hoping instead to play part-time while working in marketing or sports management.

His student days may be numbered but the memories of the Varsity match are sure to linger.