Huge crowd expected at memorial service for Jonah Lomu

Several hundred people have attended the first public memorial service for former New Zealand winger Jonah Lomu at the south-Auckland church his family often attended when he was a child. Despite the massive setback of his kidney problems, even at the age of 32, there was no doubt that his whole life still revolved around rugby.

With the scores level at 16-16 in a pool game he scored a memorable try from halfway to give the All Blacks a lead they never relinquished, and I was the first man he beat on his run to the line.

Knight added: “Lomu was sensational in the exalted heights he reached in his two glory seasons, with a physical presence no one has ever quite managed before or since”.

Lomu’s wife, Mammi Nadene, confirmed her husband’s passing via Facebook.

The ceremony began with speeches which were followed by a candle lighting in which members of Lomu’s family – including sisters, aunties and cousins – lit 40 candles, one for each year of Lomu’s life. Jonah, having had a kidney transplant in 2004, was no longer an All Black, but sparing the individual by sharing the workload was very much part of the creation of the back-to-back World Cup-winning All Blacks, so cherished now.

Everything that we have learnt about the gigantically great, sadly late, Jonah Lomu, is that his power and size was used only for the purposes of advancing the black jersey on the field.

2 – Defeats in those 48 matches against British and Irish opposition, both against England and not far off a decade apart – against Clive Woodward’s future World Cup winners at Wellington in June 2003 and in what can now be seen as Stuart Lancaster’s finest hour, at Twickenham in the autumn of 2012.

The National Rugby League or NRL, described Lomu as “inspirational”. He said on his Instagram account, “So sad to hear the news about this unbelievable giant of a man…” Richie McCaw, the best of the best, will play no more for his country. Jonah you will be missed… Along the way Lomu also came to meet Hollywood stars and personalities from various other backgrounds, especially in his ambassadorial role for brands.

All Blacks great Jonah Lomu will be honoured in a public memorial, which could be held at New Zealand’s Eden Park.

“It’s the old, “I know how you feel” scenario”, he said.

“Get me that man”, Murdoch is rumoured to have said.

They could see the anger in him occasionally.

55 – Years. Tthe space in time across which McCaw was channelling the spirit of legendary All Black forward Peter Jones when he told television interviewers he was “completely shagged” after the World Cup final victory in 2011. That total has since been equaled by Bryan Habana, a South African, but Mr. Lomu played in seven fewer World Cup matches than Habana.