All Black rugby legend Jonah Lomu dies at 40

But a year later he was diagnosed with a serious kidney condition and had a transplant in 2004.

Kronfeld said he and Lomu – who used to be “movie partners” whenever they went on tour with the All Blacks – bumped into each other a month before the start of New Zealand’s successful Rugby World Cup defence in England recently.

“Our heartfelt sympathies go out to Jonah’s family and friends at this time”.

“As a young Polynesian boy he was a shining light to all Polynesian players in New Zealand and on the islands – “Hey I can do it too!” – and you see a string of the players now saying it openly that it was him that turned them to rugby, not only in New Zealand, but globally”.

He rose to stardom at the 1995 Rugby World Cup, creating a new template for wingers which combined the speed of a backline player with the raw power of a forward.

Lomu had for decades battled the kidney disease that ended his playing career, but close acquaintances said his death still came as a shock.

Lomu is survived by his wife Nadene and sons Brayley and Dhyreille.

Lomu played in 63 Tests for New Zealand after his debut in ’94.

He also had a stint with Cardiff Blues, for whom he played 10 matches in the 2005-06 season, before retiring from the game in 2007. Tew said: “Anybody of my generation will remember the World Cup game where he ran over a couple of guys in white shirts”.

His performance in that tournament has been widely credited with helping attract the major commercial deals that enabled the sport to enter the professional era.

He quit rugby in 2002 because of Nephrotic syndrome, a rare kidney disease.

But in 2011 his body rejected the transplant and he was underdoing dialysis six hours at a time, three times a week since then.

Former New Zealand captain Sean Fitzpatrick took to Twitter to say: “Our thoughts are with the @JONAHTALILOMU family tonight. He was a very special person”.

Dan Carter said he could not believe the sad news and sent his love to the family. “Going to miss you bro!”.

“Our thoughts are with the @JONAHTALILOMU family tonight”.

But he soon established himself as rugby’s first global superstar, with his sensational four-try display over the English a week after helping to end Scotland’s campaign the undoubted highlight of his stellar career. I know we didn’t win the World Cup, but we were part of the team that set a tone.

Despite his health problems, he had been working in the United Kingdom during the recent Rugby World Cup, which makes his death all the more shocking.

Lomu was still a relatively unknown proposition on the world stage as the 1995 tournament got under way. A man who reinvented the wing position who, in his pomp, was simply unplayable, no matter who the opposition.