Jonah Tali Lomu

Lomu dominated like no other

Jonah Lomu swats aside Jeremy Guscott en-route to scoring his magnificent try against England at the 1999 Rugby World Cup. Photo: Reuter

Jonah Lomu

Lomu was born in Greenlane Hospital in Auckland on 12 May 1975.

 

Jonah Tali Lomu MNZM (12 May 1975 – 18 November 2015) was a New Zealand rugby union player. He became the youngest ever All Black when he played his first international in 1994 at the age of 19 years and 45 days. Playing on the wing Lomu finished his international career with 63 caps and 37 tries. Lomu was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame on 9 October 2007, and the IRB Hall of Fame on 24 October 2011.

Lomu burst onto the international rugby scene during the 1994 Hong Kong Sevens tournament, the same year he made his fifteen-a-side debut. He was widely acknowledged as the top player at the 1995 World Cup in South Africa even though New Zealand lost the final to the host South Africa Rugby World Cup established him as "rugby union's biggest drawcard" just as the game turned professional, with him swelling attendances at any match where he appeared. He shares the Rugby World Cup all-time try scoring record of 15 tries, which he accumulated in only two tournaments.

He played for several domestic New Zealand provincial or Super Rugby sides, and late in his career played club rugby in both Wales and France. These included the Auckland Blues, Chiefs and Hurricanes, and Counties Manukau, Wellington, and later North Harbour and the Cardiff Blues

Lomu was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome, a serious kidney disorder in 1995, and the disease had a significant impact on his playing career and wider life. By 2003 he was on dialysis and in 2004 underwent a kidney transplant . He then attempted a comeback but did not play international rugby again, and retired from professional rugby in 2007.

He died unexpectedly on 18 November 2015

after suffering a heart attack associated with his kidney condition.

Personal life

In 1996, Lomu married South African Tanya Rutter and they lived together in New Zealand for four years before divorcing, of which his family never approved.

He married his second wife Fiona in a secret ceremony on Waiheke Island in August 2003, holding a party on the island a week later. In 2008, Lomu and Fiona divorced after he had an affair with Nadene Quirk.

Lomu and Nadene later married in 2011 and at the time of his death he was living with Nadene and their children, Brayley and Dhyreille.

A month after his death, an independent trust known as the Jonah Lomu Legacy Trust was formed by the New Zealand Rugby Players' Association, intended to help support his sons.

Legacy

Following his displays at the 1995 Rugby World Cup, in December 1995 Lomu received the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year, an award given to a non-British sportsperson considered to have made the most substantial contribution to a sport each year who has also captured the imagination of the British public.[

 

Lomu was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame on 9 October 2007, and the IRB Hall of Fame on 24 October 2011.

He was appointed as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to rugby, in the 2007 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Lomu lent his name to various video games including Jonah Lomu Rugby and Rugby Challenge. He is portrayed by Isaac Fe'aunati in Invictus, a film chronicling Nelson Mandela's journey with the South African rugby team in the 1995 World Cup.

In March 2018, Jonah Lomu Drive, in the Paerata Rise development north of Pukekohe, was named in his honour.

In 1996, McDonald's New Zealand named a burger after Lomu, temporarily rebranding the McFeast burger line (called "Mega Feast" in New Zealand) as the "Jonah Burger".

On 9 April 2007, Lomu appeared on New Zealand's version of This Is Your Life, in which he was reunited with long time friend Grant Kereama, who had donated a kidney to Lomu when he underwent a kidney transplant in July 2004. He was a subject of the British version of This Is Your Life in 2002 when he was surprised by Michael Aspel while touring with the All Blacks in Edinburgh.

 

Above story From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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For me to get through the toughest periods in my life, I had to look within to find the energy to do it. I don't give up. Never have. Never will.

Jonah Lomu

 

Jonah Lomu's 15 unforgettable Rugby World Cup tries ...

Jonah Lomu was a New Zealand rugby union player of Tongan descent who was the youngest ever All Black when he played his first international in 1994 at the age of 19 years and 45 days. Lomu finished with 63 caps and scored 37 international tries. he played on the wing and tragically died on November 18, 2015 aged just 40. RIP Jonah, the big game in heaven just got a lot tougher.

 

Rugby lost a true great as All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu passed away. We put together his Record breaking 15 Rugby World Cup to remember the New Zealand star. His 15 tries were scored in just 2 RWCs.

The Best of Jonah Lomu

The only player on this earth that can run through the whole team like a freight train.

Most exciting player ever to watch.

Man-mountain. Gentle-giant.

Absolute monster .Absolute legend.

The King of Rugby.

 

 

The Greatest haka

Ahead of the final of Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand, the French team formed an arrow as the All Blacks performed their pre-match tradition - the haka.

 

 

 

Kiri Te Kanawa

Rugby World Cup Anthem 'World In Union'

Kiri Te Kanawa singing the 1991 Rugby World Cup Anthem.

 

 

 

Cited From independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/international

Jonah Lomu: The Queen sends message of condolence to All Blacks wing's family after his tragic death

Lomu met the Queen on a visit to Buckingham Palace in 2002 and a message of condolence has been passed on to his wife Nadene

• Jack de Menezes @JackdeMenezes

Friday 20 November 2015 11:50

Jonah Lomu meets the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2002 ( Getty Images )

 

 

The Queen has joined the worldwide tributes being paid to former New Zealand international Jonah Lomu after he died earlier this week at the age of 40.

Lomu died of a heart attack on Wednesday morning, and leaves behind him his wife, Nadene, and their two sons.

 

Lomu was a global superstar after starring at the 1995 and 1999 Rugby World Cup, leading to tributes from outside of the sport as well as those household names who played alongside and against the wing during his career.

Former All Blacks coach, John Hart, has revealed that Queen Elizabeth II has sent her condolences to the Lomu family, with the office of New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key helping to relay the message to his widow.

 

"She [the Queen] has written to the prime minister specifically asking for a message to be sent to Nadene and the family to say how much she mourns the loss as well," said Hart, who has been acting as the Lomu family’s spokesman having coached the player between 1996 and 1999 on the international stage.