So much has, and will be said of Jonah Tali Lomu, it seems today that we know more about this quietly spoken man. The colossus of rugby union, his sudden loss on Tuesday night at his Auckland home has robbed the world of a player who changed World Rugby. Today, RugbyNZ_ reflects on Jonah Lomu ‘the Gentle Giant’.
Born on May 12, 1975 in Auckland from a proud Tongan heritage, a young Jonah was raised in Auckland for a time before being sent home to Tonga. Spending a time in his village of Holopeka, Ha’apai before returning to Auckland and being educated at Wesley College where his natural ability really shone through. The sacrifice his family made to afford Lomu a quality education also saw him flourish in the sports field. In athletics competition, he won in virtually all classes: 100m sprints in close to record time, Long jump, High jump, Discuss and Shot. In fact, the only field he did not succeed in was the ‘cricket ball throw’ so a school friend Scott Bradley proudly holds one record over a young Jonah.
The rugby story of Lomu
We all know the classic story of Lomu, the rugby player. How he was seen at Condor Sevens tournaments as a ‘man among boys’ when scoring at will. He was identified and promoted to flanker where realistically he could have been an effective loose forward but if not for his illusive speed and power in the tackle where Lomu was a revelation. Picked early for the New Zealand Sevens team by legendary coach Gordon Tietjians, he ran riot in Hong Kong and became known for making ‘something out of nothing’.
We then witnessed the young 19 year old Lomu being selected for the France test series in 1994 by then All Blacks coach Laurie Mains, it was a big call. As Emile N’tamack schooled the young winger many times in his first match, the newspapers asked “does Lomu meet the grade?” Little did they know that in the following two tests and very much so at the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Lomu showed the resolve and skill set to prove Mains’s selection correct. And the rest is rugby folklore.
It is difficult for us here in New Zealand to judge the International impact that a player like Lomu had, because that career was not just defined by the teams he played for domestically. Beside the Counties-Manukau Steelers where he debuted in 1993, then he played in Super Rugby for The Blues. Shifting to Wellington, Lomu represented the Lions and The Hurricanes before he moved back to Auckland and briefly played for North Harbour and qualified for The Chiefs franchise. That is where we all saw the enormous impact of Jonah on our local screens.
From there, Lomu would venture north to sides like the Cardiff Blues in 2005 before Lomu first retired from professional rugby in 2007 due to ongoing health issues. Later he would look at a comeback at Marseille Vitrolles, playing in the Federale 1 league although that stint lasted all of one match before he was hospitalised again with complications of his kidney disease. He was restricted in those last years to charity games where the Lomu of old was never seen again but he always played with a smile and stayed later than most others to sign autographs and to create that engagement with the public.
With his exposure, every team he represented would have a huge level of interest from the public. So for a ‘rugby mad’ nation like Wales for example, for fans to see Lomu first-hand would have been much to the delight of the locals. He played 10 games in the 2005/06 Heineken Cup for Cardiff, and while his adoring fanbase were sympathetic to the illness which robbed him of his potential [if at full health] it was Lomu’s impact in the rugby community and wider afield that also means he will be missed by fans around the globe.
His one season with Cardiff was cut short with a broken ankle, and while he worked hard on his fitness in am attempt to rejoin the All Blacks in 2003, he worked even more tirelessly off the field throughout his storied career with charitable groups and the community. In Mangere or Monaco, the brand Lomu was recognized for his sports skills and his humanity alike. Standing out in a crowd, that recognition meant he would be constantly stopped for autographs and photo opportunities but from what we hear of Jonah, he would give his time freely.
Early in his career, team mate Josh Kronfeld mentioned how a set of headphones adorned Lomu often as he just looked down and walked through crowds to avoid it but as Jonah the person realized the important role model he was (worldwide) he soon embraced that adoration and for some, he went even further.
Jonah, more than just a rugby player
Tales are now being recalled of his gestures of goodwill. That comes from all walks of life, with mild mannered older woman seeing Jonah and discreetly asking for a photo, only for Jonah to give them a bear-like hug and sign autographs for grandchildren. Stories of people lost in Auckland’s traffic network bumping into Jonah, for him to volunteer to lead them back onto the motorways system.
Jonah Lomu is known for his generosity too. When asked to speak to an Insurance company when playing for Cardiff Blues, he graciously waved the fee (which would have commanded thousands of pounds by then) A show of generosity repeated time and time again on his ‘rugby journey’. He once loaned his corporate sponsors vehicle to a team mate whose car had broken down. Days later, Lomu turned up to his mates house after paying for the repairs to the car and he had freely ‘pimped out’ the vehicle out of the kindness of his heart. Mag wheels and a thumping car stereo (Lomu once claimed to own the loudest car stereo in New Zealand himself)
Many believe that this humane touch was born through the values of his faith and in the struggles Lomu had to endure in countless hours of therapy for his kidney dialysis–the medical condition Nephrotic Syndrome was diagnosed publicly in late 1995, and it was hard to believe that after such a commanding hand in helping the All Blacks reach the Rugby World Cup final, we learned how he was suffering in silence and that his physical strength was hiding a failing kidney.
Hours of time in hospitals and clinics exposed Jonah to people who suffered worse than him, and that he could bring smiles to the faces of both fans and people in general. Externally, he would front-up to public appearances and right to the end, often looked and acted in a healthy condition while in pain privately, suffering the side effects of treatment that included a kidney replacement in 2004. Unfortunately for Jonah, that brief improvement was scuttled when the organ was rejected by his body and he continued dialysis right up to the week of his untimely death.
In life, he was generous, softly spoken but truly dedicated to the cause of helping children and his nominated charity in New Zealand Cure Kids helps children with health issues and education. We have been robbed of Jonah Lomu the ‘gentle giant’ and memorial services have begun to celebrate the life and times of a son, husband and father of two young boys.
What I can say about Jonah, is that he was a genuine superstar on the rugby pitch. He could run, fend and hit-hard. He got better with age and by 1999, he was near to his very best and gladly still holds the World Cup record for tries at 15 [equaled now by Springbok Bryan Habana] A worldwide star of the game, known by many and liked by many many more. At six foot four, a fully fit Lomu would have exceeded in any sport he chose–rugby league offered him fortunes to switch codes and, if he had the opportunity, Lomu would have been a perfect fit for American Football on the biggest stage of them all, the NFL. Imagine that!
Gone too soon, we will enjoy the highlights packages for many years to come and the number 11 will long be associated with Jonah Lomu more than any other. Any ‘dream team’ of All Blacks will more than likely always include Big J; no disrespect to Julian Savea. A ‘game changer’ as he changed the type of body a winger would become, as his six foot frame is now typical rather than extraordinary [see Savea, George North or Nemani Nadolo]
And he will be known for his feats on and off the field. That is what makes a sportsperson more than just a player. They become legends who have positively affected their community.
Lomu surely did that, and at the Barbarians v Argentina game played on Saturday at Twickenham the crowd reaction reflected that. A moments silence was held and an image of Jonah put on the big screen. Every rugby fan there held their collective breath, both for his exploits on the field and for the respect that ‘the man Jonah’ earned worldwide.
RIP Jonah Lomu, 1975-2015
“Main photo”
