Young Jonah, just doing what came so naturally

Brendan Gallagher delves into some of rugby’s most enduring images, their story and why they are still so impactful

What’s happening here?

It’s a perfect Sunday evening at Loftus Versveld in Pretoria in June, 1995 and the sun is shining, as it always does in those parts and the air is like champagne. Jonah Lomu, just turned 20, and at the very height of his athletic powers has just shredded veteran Scotland centre Scott Hastings on the outside and is gliding in for yet another try.

The Scots had put up a decent fight in this World Cup quarterfinal against a seemingly invincible All Blacks side before losing 48-30 but there was no stopping Lomu. A week later he scored four tries against England in a memorable semifinal victory. A rare new talent was moving among us.

What’s the story behind the picture?

Many people seem to think the Jonah story started with those four tries against England in the 1995 World Cup semi-final but actually he had already been lighting up the rugby world for two years at the Hong Kong Sevens and was always going to be a huge hit in South Africa.

As a schoolboy he played No.8 and was the star man when New Zealand Schools put 50 points on the touring England Schools XV in 1993 but, viewing his speed and off-loading ability, NZ Sevens coach Gordon Tietjens and his skipper Eric Rush were keen to get him involved with the Kiwi Sevens squad. Nominally he took the field as a prop but basically he was an all-purpose running, passing, try-scoring machine.

Before the first Hong Kong tournament in 1994 Rush held a small Press conference in the shiny new stands of the Hong Kong Stadium and told us to look out for Jonah. “This kid is bigger, faster, stronger and better than Inga (Tuigamala).”

Rush is one of the most sensible voices in rugby so we dutifully underlined the name Lomu in our notebooks.

New Zealand rushed him into their Test team – on the wing – against France in 1994 when he became the youngest ever All Black at 19 years and 45 days. It didn’t go well. New Zealand lost the series 2-0 and although Jonah didn’t do much wrong, he and many others were summarily dropped.

The following year he was just back from another Hong Kong Sevens triumph when the Kiwis, beginning to gear up for the World Cup, encountered a few injury problems on the wing. Jonah, in the shape of his life, was called up by Laurie Mains and was so impressive in training that a Test recall was certain.

What happened next?

The greatest force of nature the game has ever seen exploded into action on the High Veldt with a series of astonishing performances against Ireland and Wales in the pool games and then Scotland in the quarterfinal. He could break from 80 metres out, outsprint noted speed merchants, run through defenders and off-load like a dream. If he didn’t score tries he made them for the likes of flanker Josh Kronfeld who knew a good thing when he saw it and spent those games running on the shoulder of Jonah. That’s where the action was.

Lomu was already the player of the tournament long before he travelled down to Cape Town for the semi-final but remarkably England still didn’t seem to have really clocked him. His Sevens exploits were just beery highlights from Hong Kong, he had ‘bombed’ against France and the Celts had only provided limited opposition up at altitude. England would monster the Kiwis up front, Lomu’s role would be mainly defensive.

Why is the picture iconic?

There are scores of Jonah pictures you could file as iconic but for me this one is special. It captures the essence of a phenomenal young athlete in his pomp and player who was as likely to hit the turbos and blitz you on the outside as he was to run through you. That’s no callow youth he has just left eating grass, that is Scott Hastings.

Jonah is Sevens fit. Slimmer and quicker than the Jonah that somehow, miraculously, kept going for the next six or seven years as he bravely fought nephrotic syndrome. At one time he was taking 17 tablets a day to fight the kidney disease and inevitably he started to bulk up and slow a little.

But there is more. Shaun Bottrill captured this image exactly a week before Jonah’s heroics at Newlands against England. This is probably the last photograph in which Jonah Lomu is just ‘another’ outstanding rugby player and there is a lovely carefree vibe that sunny evening. There is still the hint of the schoolboy rather than the rugby colossus. After the England game Jonah’s world changed instantly, overnight he became rugby’s first – and so far only – global superstar and he was tracked every minute of every day by the media. A friendly giant by nature he became a little haunted, less joyous.

And finally he is not in the famous All Black Jersey, with New Zealand being asked to change that evening to avoid a clash with Scotland. Jonah was one of the greatest All Blacks in history, but even arguably the most iconic jersey in sport did not define him. His talent was a gift to the rugby world as well as New Zealand, it transcended nationality. We were all in awe of his talent and admired the guy immensely. The ‘neutral’ white shirt subtly underlines that message. We all cheered him, even when he was carving our side to pieces.

Footnote: Jonah enjoyed a phenomenal career but continued to struggle with health issues and died aged 40 on November 18, 2015 from a heart attack related to his kidney condition.

“There is still the hint of the schoolboy here rather than the rugby colossus”