He died after suddenly collapsing just hours after returning from a trip to Dubai.
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Lomu’s performances at the tournament in South Africa, however, electrified the rugby world as he scored seven tries, four in the semi-final against England alone with one when he trampled over fullback Mike Catt leaving many speechless.
“I had a lot of calls and I put them off and I was seeing it was a few close friends that I hadn’t heard off for a while so I knew something must be up”, he told the New Zealand Herald.
All Blacks legend Lomu was the main attraction at a fundraising and awareness evening in September at The Deco Theatre, Northampton.
“Jonah was one of Auckland’s greatest sons”, Auckland Mayor Len Brown said.
I can confirm the incredibly sad news that we’ve lost another All Black great.
Irish rugby stars past and present paid tribute to the giant All Black. He didn’t want to run through people every time, but he did have that ability and his footwork and speed off the mark was second to none, you just couldn’t get near the guy.
Team mate Rob Andrew said Lomu was a “a nightmare to play against”. He was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in October 2011.
He is the joint-highest try scorer at the Rugby World Cup, joined this year by South Africa’s Bryan Habana.
Tributes have also been flooding in from Northampton Saints players, with Dylan Hartley describing Lomu as his “idol”.
“He was fair and even-handed in his skittling of defenders: good players, bad players – we were all flicked aside like beads of sweat from a shaken forehead…”
“He was unstoppable”, said Woodward, who led England to the World Cup in 2003. “I’ve got scar tissue in my hamstring from where he ran over me at a game at Canberra Stadium”, Gregan said.
“For the first time ever you had this incredibly gifted, large, very fast athlete on the wing. Going to miss you bro!”.
Aussie sports journalist Craig Norenbergs had posted what may be the last time Lomu was see in public on Twitter on Tuesday (Nov 17) afternoon with the caption “Man loves to shop!” when he arrived at Auckland airport.
It is hard to think of a sportsperson from outside of the country’s borders whose death, at the age of 40 after suffering for two decades with kidney disease, would receive such an outpouring of condolences.
For the past 20 years, Lomu had been battling a rare kidney disease while still actively playing rugby.
New Zealand actor/comedian Jemaine Clement tweets, “Very sad news about Jonah Lomu passing away”.
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“On behalf of the Lomu family, I can confirm that Jonah Lomu died this morning, most probably about eight or nine this morning”, Mayhew said.
