MPs were furious that once again they were in disarray – and this time Collins was being blamed for it, for her late-night press release without speaking to the caucus first.
National was a wreck.
The only question now is whether Collins has succeeded in bringing Bridges down with her.
MPs are hoping to get a few days to try to work out whether the damage to Bridges is too much to put him up as leader – just as his campaign was getting momentum among the public.
If not Bridges, they may look to Christopher Luxon.
Mark Mitchell has tried before but was backing Bridges this time. That could change if Bridges opts out. Some are mentioning Chris Bishop. Luxon may no longer have the luxury of waiting for his second term. They cannot afford another caretaker leader.
Make no mistake, Bridges will fight for it. Until last night, his attempt to get the leadership back was going swimmingly.
One thing he and Collins have in common is that fighting spirit – and after a late-night meeting with his core supporters last night, Bridges came out swinging on his way to the caucus meeting. He said it was clear Collins would stop at nothing to save her own job, of "desperation".
Collins' attempts to thwart her rival's bid for the leadership amount to revisiting an allegation about what seems on the face of it at least a very crude, bad-taste joke which Bridges aimed at the wrong audience: Jacqui Dean.
Bridges was spoken to at the time by former leader Bill English.
He apologised to Dean. Dean subsequently supported Bridges' leadership bid in early 2018, and stuck with Bridges against the Todd Muller challenge. She was one of his most steady supporters.
So why has it suddenly come up again now?
The answer could be this week's Newshub poll pitting Collins against Bridges – and Bridges winning – would have been quite the game changer in persuading uncertain MPs to move their backing to Bridges. Bridges knew it, and it showed in his grin.
Collins' move may well have now spoiled Bridges' chances of a comeback.
Mud sticks - and Collins' initial statement alleging serious misconduct was clearly worded to be vague enough so that people could come to the conclusion it amounted to something more sinister than it appears to be.
Female colleagues of Bridges, and former staff, have told the Herald they never saw Bridges act inappropriately towards women (although he is known to have an off-colour sense of humour) and they suspect he picked his audience wrong.
Collins has a strong ruthless streak – Todd Muller too was effectively sacked, a punishment that seemed disproportionate to his crime. Collins was also widely believed to be involved in Nick Smith's departure, warning him that a negative story about a staff complaint had been leaked to media. The story never appeared.
Neutralising Bridges may well be enough for Collins personally.
But her own MPs and the party itself will not forgive her for the chaos she has thrown the party into.
Rather than burning down a house to save the village, Collins seems to have tried to burn down the village to save the house.
