Rugby legend Jonah Lomu dies

Perhaps with the exception of Wales and its working class mining roots, rugby union is mostly seen as the preserve of the white middle and upper classes. Every since I can remember fee paying schools predominantly played rugby and all the rest of us played football.

That was until the New Zealander of Togan decent , Jonah Lomu literally burst onto the rugby stage.

This non-white man single handedly transformed the game of rugby. Until Lomu rugby players were classed in two very distinct groups: The main group were men who were big, strong, and as a team exercise they could possibly wrestle down a bear. The other group, which from a team of 15 numbered about three or  four where lighter, faster and good at kicking the oval shaped ball.

Jonah Lomu tore up that rule book and in doing so defied science, whilst giving a sense of pride to the Tongan people and in indeed Black people around the world.

Lomu was big, extremely big, but unlike his rugby counterparts he was also very quick. But the real gift of this hard but very gentle man was his balance. There’s one thing being quick, and quite another being fast, but Loma was able to combine to the two with a ballerina’s deft touch. Watching Loma in full flight was simply poetry in motion.

You have to look way back into the rugby history vaults –Barry John, JPR Williams- to see any rugby player drop the shoulder and jinks past players leaving them wrong footed. But these were small, nimble men with quick feet. Lomu was huge, nevertheless, he danced around players, swatting them like flies as he glided past, or where necessary bulldozed through.

Last night the great man of world of Rugby died at the young age of 40.

New Zealanders, and Togan’s favourite son had suffered from health problems since calling time on his playing career in 2002 due to a rare kidney disease, nephrotic syndrome. He underwent a kidney transplant in 2004 and had been on dialysis treatment for the past 10 years.

Now the world mourns this gentle giant, feared on the field, revered by all off it

You may never have seen Lomu live or live on TV Whether or not you have, if you have time take a look at this video to see the man in his pomp. You’ll know doubt shake your head in disbelief, but smile at the genius that was Johna Loma.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FkJ1Wp9iko

Rest in peace Big man

Simon Woolley