On this day: Jonah Lomu, rugby superstar
It was in the third minute of the 1995 World Cup semifinal between New Zealand and England in Cape Town that rugby union changed forever.
All Blacks scrumhalf Graeme Bachop picked the ball out of a ruck in midfield and flung a long, wild pass to his left, forcing a 20-year-old winger playing his sixth Test to pick it up off the bounce.
Jonah Lomu, all 1.95m and 119kg of him, safely stowed the ball in the crook of his left arm while swatting off Tony Underwood with a flick of his right hand and took off towards the line.
England skipper Will Carling raced across the field and attempted a tap tackle but there was only a stumble as Lomu charged on towards fullback Mike Catt, who was rudely trampled underfoot as the giant winger crashed over him to score. In that moment, England were beaten and rugby union had its first superstar.
Millions around the world, many who had not previously followed the game, were captivated by the sight of this force of nature, a man who could sprint like the whippets who usually patrolled the wing and brush off tacklers like a number eight.
Lomu scored three more tries against the hapless English on that day at Newlands, and even finishing up on the losing side in a try-less final against SA did nothing to threaten his position as the outstanding player of the tournament.
His timing was impeccable. After 172 years of amateurism, the sport turned professional a few months later.
New competitions attracting bigger crowds were created and governing bodies signed lucrative television deals and sponsorship endorsements.
As humble off the field as he was intimidating on it, Lomu was the game’s hottest property and reaped his rewards but even before the end of 1995 there were the first signs of the health problems that would ultimately kill him.
Lomu suffered from the debilitating kidney disorder Nephrotic Syndrome and treatment meant he missed a handful of matches over the next few years, though he was back at his best for the 1999 World Cup.
Eight five-pointers made him the tournament’s leading try scorer but his two in the semifinal against France were not enough to prevent the All Blacks crashing out in one of the biggest upsets in the history of the game.
On November 18 2015, Lomu died suddenly of a heart attack associated with his kidney condition in Auckland, the city where he had been born to Tongan parents 40 years earlier.
“Jonah Lomu was a giant of a man who leaves a giant space in world rugby,” then-World Rugby chair Bernard Lapasset said at his funeral.
“He will forever be a big part of rugby’s story. ”—