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New Zealand great Jonah Lomu changed the face of rugby union forever

As soon as news broke of Lomu’s death, tributes began pouring in for the player who scored eight tries in the 1999 Rugby World Cup, including from the San Francisco 49ers Australian running back Jarryd Hayne, who used to play professional rugby.

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Lomu, 40, who died after years battling a rare kidney disorder, is widely recognised as one of the greatest rugby players of all time.

He died yesterday after collapsing just hours after returning from a trip to Dubai.

No-one will ever forget his watershed performance against England in the World Cup semi-final in Cape Town, when Lomu trampled over Mike Catt on the way to scoring four tries. A man who reinvented the wing position who, in his pomp, was simply unplayable, no matter who the opposition.

“The great thing was he was just Jonah as well”.

“He’s inspired millions of people around the world to watch the sport and start playing”.

He rose to stardom at the 1995 Rugby World Cup, where his combination of speed and power stunned opponents. He was so extraordinary in that World Cup yet he said ‘yeah, it was great to part of something great with South Africa winning the World Cup on their own turf.’ And it was an wonderful sense of humility in that here was this huge star on the world stage but he recognised he was part of something bigger.

“I went to tackle him on the basis that he was going to run over me”, said Richard Wallace, the former Ireland winger.

Welsh legend Jonathan Davies tweeted Lomu had “changed the game of rugby”.

He also joined the IRB Hall of Fame four years later.

“He could have played in any position he wanted to on the field”, Brooke told BBC Radio 5 live.

“Until the day of his passing he was at the World Cup still promoting the game, talking about his memories and the moments he created in everybody’s memory, they are there for everybody to see and are marked in history”.

As you know, his death was sudden and unexpected. “If it wasn’t for that, I would have been on the plane, it was that close”, Lomu said. “True legend of the game”.

“Jonah arrived to play for Cardiff Blues in 2005”.

“It really is very sad what has happened to him at such a young age”.

“But then we witnessed one man turn a game into a global sport in 80 minutes”.

“Jonah’s contribution to rugby can not be overstated”.

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But he believes the late New Zealand star’s impact at that tournament changed rugby forever and opened the door for a generation of juggernaut widemen to take the game by storm. “He burst onto the scene with an energy, passion and intensity, the likes of which had never before been witnessed”, said Lapasset.

Rugby titan Jonah Lomu dies suddenly at age 40