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About four years ago, during the 2011 Rugby World Cup, interest and excitement around the sport of rugby and the tournament were surprisingly present in India, if only in a few quarters.
As I have been an ardent fan of rugby, a few of my friends, who had no idea about the sport, were still making enquiries about the dates and the format and how they could watch it.
The fact that every match was being televised encouraged them to catch a glimpse – and the timings cooperated. WIth the event in New Zealand, the matches would commence around afternoon in India – an ideal time to enjoy a sporting tournament.
As their questions and doubts kept coming, one of them suddenly paused to tell me that he had heard of a mountain of a man in the All Blacks jersey who terrorizes opposition teams.
Note the tense in the statement for he believed that this behemoth that he’d heard about still ran riot in the sport of rugby. I had a fair idea of who he was referring to, but I still asked him if he could remember the name, to which he replied saying that it sounded similar to ‘emu’.
Of course, my friend was talking about the legendary Jonah Lomu of New Zealand, who sadly passed away at just 40 on the 18th of November in his home, after returning from a trip to the United Kingdom with his family.
The reason why that moment from four years ago is so memorable is because here was a guy, who knew nothing about rugby, had basic knowledge that there were three big teams, had no idea there was a Rugby Union and Rugby League code, had not watched a single rugby game, and yet, he had heard of the legend of Lomu.
That is the sort of effect that the big man had on not just his sport, but the entire sporting world around the globe. Close to five years after his retirement, and almost a decade past his absolute best, there were people who still only knew Lomu as far as rugby was concerned. That’s the sort of transcendent effect he had.
Standing at 1.95m tall and weighing about 119 kg, the winger was rugby’s first truly global superstar who helped usher the game into a new era with his exploits. His combination of power and speed, for a man so big, attracted audiences from far and wide to tune in for he was truly a spectacle to watch.
Lomu was, not surprisingly, the first international rugby player that I ever knew of. As a kid, in a country that pretty much spoke cricket everywhere, and with my own primary interests being in tennis and football, I didn’t know much about him, but had seen his name splashed across a few news reports on the BBC. Those reports would speak about his destructive nature, the cold sweat that ran down the back of those who faced up to him, to go with the fact that he played for New Zealand, who were already such a dominant side.
Only later on, with the advent of YouTube, did I actually get to see some of his play from matches past. And then I gasped! The legend was true. Here was a guy, who bulldozed his way past defences, swatting them aside like they were insignificant flies in his path.
Lomu and rugby capture the world’s attention
Two decades ago in South Africa Lomu played his part in what was a landmark year for rugby and a tournament for the ages.
Having impressed in the sevens tournament in Hong Kong a year ago in 1994, Lomu had caught the eye of All Blacks coach Laurie Mains. Lomu initially played loose forward, but Mains transitioned him to the wing role out wide which the giant man found a challenge. He looked hopelessly lost in his first two test matches against France and was subsequently dropped after Mains thought that he wasn’t fit to play the fast-paced style of rugby that he envisioned and only made the squad for the 1995 world cup by the skin of his teeth.
1995 and Lomu almost did not happen.
When the tournament began though, Lomu ran riot. He electrified the 1995 Rugby World Cup with his performances, scoring seven tries in the tournament. Four of those came in the semi-final against England in a match whose highlights will surely be replayed over and over and over for years to come.
Not because it was a competitive, thrilling game, but because Lomu single-handedly destroyed the English as the crowd inside the stadium and those watching on television initially stood aghast at the scale of destruction that he wreaked before joining in and rising to their feet every time he got the ball in anticipation of more.
One particular try on the night stood out, where he quite literally trampled over England full-back Mike Catt while brushing off other defenders to score.
The story was not done though. On the bank of this performance, many considered the already favourite All Blacks to be near unstoppable with Lomu in their ranks and in the final they faced the hosts South Africa, back in the sporting arena for the first time since the end of their apartheid regime and subsequent reintroduction into world sport.
The Springboks though gang-tackled him and inspired by a united nation and President Nelson Mandela watching from the stands went on to defeat the All Blacks and claim their first ever world cup. Not even Lomu could deny them.
Despite not winning, Lomu had done his bit to propel the sport forward and the poignancy of South Africa’s win in the backdrop of everything that they’d endured in years past got new recognition for the sport. Barely two months after the final the sport went professional leaving behind its amateur status. New competitions were formed and players began raking in the cash as governing bodies signed lucrative television deals and sponsorship endorsements, attracting bigger crowds to the game.
The illness strikes
After those mammoth highs, the year would end on a bitter note for Lomu as he was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome, a rare kidney disease, towards the end of 1995.
That forced him to undergo extensive treatment and contrived to keep him off the pitch, unable to play. Yet when fully fit and playing, he was still dismantling defences worldwide. He returned for the 1999 world cup, strong and determined to make up for the disappointment of 1995 and cut loose once again.
He scored eight tries this time, one more than in South Africa, including two in the semi-final versus France. However, that was to prove bittersweet as the French rallied to register a come-from-behind 43-31 victory in a match that remains one of the best ever at the tournament and also one of the biggest upsets ever.
Once more, the dominant All Blacks, with the unstoppable Lomu, had been tamed.
That would remain a blight in his marquee career as Lomu never played another world cup as the disease worsened, threatening his very life in the process. He played his last international in 2002 against Wales, finishing his career with 37 tries from 63 appearances for the All Blacks.
From that point on, his health deteriorated and he had to have a transplant done in 2004 to tide things over. Come the 2011 Rugby World Cup though, that kidney too had begun to fail and he was back on dialysis, close to 21 hours every week.
After his international retirement, Lomu continued to represent clubs in Britain and France whenever fit where he continued playing until 2009.
Humble beginnings and a humble career
Lomu was of Tongan heritage and hailed from South Auckland, in one of the poorer parts of the city. As a youngster, he had faced the trauma of having witnessed his cousin killed in a machete attack in a city mall, and to cope with it had returned to Tonga for a few years.
At Wesley College, where he studied, he quickly found his calling in sport, engaging in a variety of disciplines. He was so quick that he used to clock sub 11 second times in the 100 metres.
Lomu, who became the youngest All Black test player at the age of 19 years and 45 days when he debuted against France in 1994, soon shot to fame in the 1995 World Cup. But despite all the global appeal and stardom, his colleagues and opponents always acknowledged that off the field, he remained a very quiet, humble man.
His try scoring record was even more remarkable considering that he played for much of his career with his kidney disease.
Impact on the game
Lomu brought the now common pace and power style of wing play to the game of rugby. And Mains’ brand of fast-paced rugby is one that the All Blacks currently run to ruthless perfection.
Previously wingers had been light, quick figures, but Lomu brought a new dimension to it. It forced a change in defensive schemes too, as teams tried their hand at stopping the runaway freight train.
New Zealanders hold their sports stars in very high regard, especially members of the All Blacks. And as such, his loss at just 40 years of age, was a deeply saddening moment for the nation.
But Lomu’s appeal and reach was such that, it meant the passing of not just a New Zealand icon, but a sporting legend, who picked up international rugby in his hands and powered it into new territory, breaking through shackles with such devastating effect.
The legend of Lomu will live on.
