RIP, gentle giant

Tmonths ago in England, South Africa featured in what was called the biggest shock in rugby history when they suffered a last-minute defeat to Japan at the World Cup.

Twenty years ago, in South Africa, we witnessed the birth of another “shock” phenomenon in the rugby world when, as our country hosted the Rugby World Cup and made its debut at the tournament simultaneously, big New Zealand wing Jonah Lomu announced his arrival in the sport by routinely demolishing opposition defences en route to the tryline.

At 20, he scored four tries against England in the semi-final at Newlands. He was young in terms of years, but his huge talent was innate.

Auckland-born Lomu’s untimely death at the age of 40 yesterday came after a long struggle with kidney disease. The impact he had on the game has left the sports world in mourning.

“Utter genius” and “freak of nature” were descriptions attached to him at the 1995 World Cup – and they were not exaggerations. “Freight train in ballet shoes” was another writer’s description of the Kiwi juggernaut, which required no clarification.

Like sporting icons Pele and Muhammad Ali before him and others like Tiger Woods and Usain Bolt more recently, Lomu’s talents were such that they transcended his sport at the same time as bringing it to the attention of the wider world and winning over millions of new fans.