Legendary All Black dead at age 40
Powerful star Jonah Lomu made a name for himself during ’95, ’99 World Cups
WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND— Jonah Lomu, who bulldozed opponents with his size and blistering speed only to be felled by a kidney illness that extinguished his meteoric All Blacks career, died suddenly on Wednesday. He was 40.
Nadene Lomu, the wife and manager of the rugby great, confirmed Lomu’s death in a statement Wednesday but did not specify the cause. Lomu had struggled with a kidney illness for 20 years.
“It is with great sadness that I must announce my dear husband Jonah Lomu died (overnight),” she said. “This is a devastating loss for our family and may I ask that our privacy, especially the privacy of our two very young boys, be respected as we take them through this traumatic time.”
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew said “Jonah was a legend of our game and loved by his many fans both here and around the world.”
The son of immigrants from Tonga, innately humble off the pitch, was at his devastating best at the 1995 and 1999 World Cups, scoring 15 tries in 11 games but never winning the trophy.
The stabbing death of a friend steered Lomu away from street gangs in the blue-collar suburbs of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, where he grew up.
Rugby gave him new direction. He channelled anger he felt about his father into the sport. Aged just 19 for the first of his 63 tests, he was a physical colossus for a winger — sixfoot-four, 262 pounds — and quite terrifying when pounding through defensive lines at speed.
Nephrotic syndrome, a degenerative kidney illness, curtailed his career at his peak. Lomu tried making a comeback after a 2004 transplant but was forced to abandon hopes of playing the 2007 World Cup. He played his last match in 2006.
At the height of his career, Lomu had the ear of Nelson Mandela, charmed Hollywood comedian Robin Williams — who wore an All Blacks cap and called him “mate” — and visited parliaments and palaces.
He played for New Zealand’s under-19 team and starred in rugby sevens before his All Blacks debut in June 1994. Selected late to the All Blacks squad after an injury to John Timu, Lomu burst to international fame at the 1995 World Cup in South Africa. He scored seven tries in five matches, including four in a rampaging semifinal win over England.
But by then he also knew he was sick.
Lomu remained an All Black until 2002, but his health faded. He required dialysis three times a week. After his kidney transplant, he played with New Zealand’s North Harbour province and, with moderate success, for the Cardiff Blues in Wales.