LEGENDS OF THE GAME: JONAH LOMU

Every generation has its legends. You know the type, the one player

you always refer to when discussing an era of rugby. When looking back

at the seventies we think of Welsh greats such as Barry John, Phil

Bennett and JPR Williams. The 00’s cannot be discussed without the

mention of Johnny Wilkinson and Martin Johnson who led England to

their 2003 World Cup victory.

The 90s however, belongs to one man (in my eyes anyway). That man was

not only one of the best players to ever don the All Blacks shirt; he

was also one of the world greats at his game. I am of course talking

about Jonah Lomu the power-house winger.

Growing up I was surrounded my rugby. Every Friday, Saturday and

Sunday we would either travel to Llanelli to watch a game, stay closer

to home and watch my brother play for Lampeter RFC or we would the

watch match coverage on the TV. International time we would sit in the

living room too tense to move and we became oblivious to anything and

everything that happened around us that was not rugby related.

However, this interest in rugby intensified ten-fold when we could get

a glimpse of the All Blacks playing on TV. I’m still in university but

even I remember the days when there were only 5 channels available!

It was not as easy as typing Lomu’s name into youtube to see a

compilation of his best tries. Getting a glimpse of Lomu and the All

Blacks play was what I’d liken to Charlie finding that golden ticket

in his bar of chocolate.

The New Zealand players seemed to be from a completely different

species to the northern hemisphere athletes that appeared on the TV

week-in-week-out.

Standing at 6’5 and weighing over 18 stone one would imagine that

being hit by Lomu would mirror being hit by a large moving vehicle.

Today, you do not need to look very far to see footage of players such

as Englishman Mike Catt being unapologetically trampled on as the

winger made his way towards the try line. England captain Will

Carling, in reaction to Lomu’s attacking strength said: "He is a

freak, and the sooner he goes away the better".

With 63 caps and 37 tries for his national side between 1994 and 2002,

Lomu was no stranger to the whitewash. This level of talent mixed in

with a relentless drive to run through everything in his way, the New

Zealander became rugby’s first millionaire.

Health issues in later years would prevent Lomu from competing on a

regular basis and in 2004 he underwent a kidney transplant.

Lomu still remains my all-time favourite player and continues to

inspire me in all walks of life. His mixture of immense strength,

intense speed and unrivalled skill is something that is utterly unique

and something we have rarely seen in the game since

.