Saru pays tribute to McCaw

As his creator tells the superhuman replicant with built-in obsolescence in the 1982 sci-fi-noir classic Blade Runner: “The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long – and you have burnt so very, very brightly”.

“Even if that door was just open a little bit”. I would feel like a kid in a sweet store when I sat with him having a beer after games.

“In my opinion, he will go down not only as the greatest All Black of all time, but the greatest captain we have ever had, and possibly the greatest player to have ever played the game in the modern era”, he said.

He was voted Newcomer of the Year by the global Rugby Players’ Association the following year and was named All Blacks captain for the first time in 2004, when regular skipper Tana Umaga was rested.

Lomu’s wife Nadene is also a member and a relative told ONE News her father has taken charge of funeral planning.

“He had done that for years, I had a small glimpse of being with him and he was a phenomenal individual. If you know sport you know Jonah and this is a sad day for all sport”.

The unmistakable sight of Lomu in full flight with ball in hand provoked fear into every opponent but Logan is adamant there was much more to the talent of a human battering ram which needs to be acknowledged. We got just as many comments for our play on the field as for what we did off the field in the UK.

“When he felt he needed to go over players then he would do that but when he needed to go around them he would go around them”.

“But the real measure of a rugby giant of the game isn’t always his statistics and records, rather how he is seen by his peers and here in South Africa he is very highly regarded”. He changed rugby union during the 1995 World Cup. I’m lying on the floor and Robin Brooke came over to me, hit me across the cheek and said: “‘Mate, that’s just the start of it.’ Everybody knew who Mike Catt was afterwards, but for all the wrong reasons”.

He burst onto the global stage at the 1995 World Cup and scored 37 tries in 63 tests for the All Blacks.

Cardiff Blues will hold a minute’s applause in tribute to Lomu, their former player, at Thursday’s European Challenge Cup home tie with Harlequins. He also won a clutch of awards including IRB Newcomer of the year in 2001, and three IRB Player of the Year awards.

Cape Town – New Zealand loose forward Richie McCaw has confirmed he is hanging up his boots and retiring from professional rugby.

Since Jonah Lomu sadly passed away, copies of Jonah Lomu Rugby have been put up on TradeMe and the prices of these copies have skyrocketed.

When we regaled at the likes of Michael Jones and the wonderful Josh Kronfeld wearing the shirt with such aplomb, few would have thought the young loosie from the nondescript farming village of Kurow, near Otago would better that duo, but he did, with interest.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister John Key told reporters in Manila it’s “not impossible” Lomu could have a state funeral, but there are other options available, if that’s what the family wanted.

“We’ve got to make sure we understand that and respect that”, Umaga said.

Nacewa, a native of Auckland like Lomu, greeted the news with sadness yesterday.

“It was one of those magic moments you don’t forget”.