“Former England coach Sir Clive Woodward said: “[His death is] a huge loss to rugby. “Now that we’ve been through it once, our heart goes out to the family, and that’s pretty much all I’m thinking about at the moment”.
Advertisement
The former New Zealand global rugby player Jonah Lomu, widely regarded as one of the game’s finest players, has died in Auckland aged 40, according to a statement issued by New Zealand Rugby Union CEO Steve Tew on Twitter. Debilitating. Life-threatening. And yet he’d played on and did so for at least two years before he told the public that he was ill.
Jonah Lomu is survived by his wife Nadene and their children Brayley, six, and Dhyreille, five.
He also played for various teams in his native New Zealand, as well as making appears for Cardiff Blues in Wales in 2005 and 2006 before retiring.
As a 19-year-old, he was the star of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, scoring 7 total tries, including 4 in the semifinal victory over England. “He set the world alight at the 1995 World Cup in South Africa”. It was a performance that helped to usher in the professional era.
Nephrotic syndrome, a degenerative kidney illness, curtailed his career at his peak. A later transplant was rejected by his body in 2011. “He was a very special person”.
“If you saw him running at you in the line it was like, ‘oh my god, here we go, this is going to be heavy”.
It was announced on Wednesday that Lomu had passed away suddenly in his homeland at the age of 40. RIP Jonah you were a true legend and a gentleman.
“I feel for New Zealand because they have lost a great legend of the game and that is a term you don’t use lightly”.
There are very few sportsmen and women who can truly attest to have transcended the norm and changed the landscape of their respective sports forever in the way that Jonah Lomu did.
“His impact on Rugby World Cup 1995, in particular, was profound”. His blend of pace, power and size never before seen.
Indeed, Lomu was the record try-scorer in Rugby World Cup history with a total of 15 until this summer’s event and, despite his enormous 18st frame, he could run a remarkable 100 metres in 11 seconds in his prime.
Advertisement
Bach has joined sporting leaders around the world in recognising Lomu’s massive contribution to modern rugby.
