RIP Jonah Lomu

Teferi

News is just breaking that Jonah Lomu has died. What an absolute legend of the game, deeply saddening.

Here

All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu has passed away in Auckland today at the age of 40.
Former All Blacks doctor John Mayhew confirmed Lomu had died unexpectedly this morning.
Lomu had recently been in the United Kingdom with his family as a spokesman for Heineken during the Rugby World Cup.
The bruising winger made 73 appearances for the All Blacks, making his Test debut in 1994 against France in Christchurch.
Lomu scored 43 tries in the black jersey, before having to quit the sport in 2002 because of Nephrotic syndrome, a rare kidney disease.
He suffered a health scare in 2011, pulling out of the Fight for Life charity boxing event with kidney troubles, just seven years after his life-saving kidney transplant.

What a champion of a man. The worlds first professional rugby superstar, he influenced a generation of rugby players. I remember just after starting playing rugby in 1995 that we all wanted to play as Lomu.

Edit: Confirmed on the All Black Twitter Account.

ThisRegard

That was certainly unexpected, even if he was seriously ill at one stage a few years ago.

Bridge93

Very sad news. Surprised he won 73 caps, although too young to see most of his career I always thought his strike rate was much higher than that.

corsav6

Completely unexpected, had to check was it a different Jonah Lomu. RIP

PTH2009

what a shocker RIP. sky sports news dont have it yet

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I can't believe this is true. Hoping it's one of those twitter rumours....

Beefy78

Unbelievable. One of the great sporting memories of my childhood was watching him bursting into the scene. An absolute monster of a man taken way too soon. RIP

sweetthing

If this is true then it is terribly sad news. Absolute legend

Dozen Wicked Words

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I can't believe this is true. Hoping it's one of those twitter rumours....

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/nov/18/jonah-lomu-dies-aged-40-according-to-reports?CMP=twt_gu

True sadly

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Official NZ twitter confirming it now. Such a shock, I can't believe it.

Teferi

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I can't believe this is true. Hoping it's one of those twitter rumours....

Me too buddy, unfortunately it looks like other papers have picked it up now - the Guardian, NZHerald etc.

JP Liz V1

RIP

Dozen Wicked Words

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I can't believe this is true. Hoping it's one of those twitter rumours....

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/nov/18/jonah-lomu-dies-aged-40-according-to-reports?CMP=twt_gu
http://www.news.com.au/sport/all-blacks-legend-jonah-lomu-has-died-reports/news-story/003e7029602a760ffb4df5871a6e2257?utm_content=SocialFlow&utm_campaign=EditorialSF&utm_source=News.com.au&utm_medium=Twitter

True sadly

randy hickey

Sky News now reporting this sad news.


RIP.

Zzippy

Wow. Tragically young age to go.
Had such a huge impact on the world scene in '95. The first of the modern backs - huge, fast and extremely powerful. Probably changed the game single-handedly. RIP Jonah

Gaygooner

@BBCBreaking: New Zealand rugby union legend Jonah Lomu dies aged 40

RIP

gsmhsd10

Shocker. Only 40. R.I.P Jonah

phog

Hero to many.

Sadly, he never got to have a long playing career. He was the best of the best.

RIP

Kristopherus

Sad news. Only 40. A true legend. RIP.

martyos121

RIP Jonah Lomu. Even as just a casual rugby fan, I truly understand the game wouldn't be as big as it is today without him. An absolute legend.

Lucy8080

Heard this about ten mins ago ,thought it must be internet rumour nonsense, so decided to check this forum.

He was on "rugby tonight" a few weeks back , and in great form and talking about how his kids so loved their time in England during the world cup that he was buying a house with a view to staying.

Sad news.

R.I.P. legend of the game.

athtrasna

Sleep well oh gentle giant off the field and legend on the field x

ronanc1000

I can't believe this.

As a youngster, like many kids playing rugby I looked up Lomu. The best winger in world rugby. He brought pace, strength, power he had it all. But for me it was more than that. Our life stories had very similar paths, Rugby was cut early for me and I myself spent many years 9 in fact on dialysis waiting for a kidney transplant as did Jonah. A few years back when Munster played the AB at thomond park I was very lucky to sit down with Jonah and chat. At this point he had his Kidney Transplant and was making his comeback into the game, I, a 14 year old had just suffered a failed transplant and was recently back on Dialysis again. That 30 minutes I spent with the man was amazing, he spoke with great positivity to me, to never give up and never give in you'll get your day, that kept the fire in me to keep healthy until that kidney transplant came for me. Yes, that day came, I was transplanted successfully in 2014 and continue to do well. I always kept an eye out for how Jonah was doing in recent years, tweets back and fourth etc. Unfortunately dialysis commenced again for him a while back but that did not stop him. Rugby roles and World Cup ambassador roles kept him up there being part of this great game.

Thank you Jonah, sleep well up there among the elite buddy. Thanks for those words that day that keep me in check going forward I will always remember that day. I and many others will will cherish those great memories you gave us. Impossible is nothing.

https://youtu.be/9rTttFOWJV4

Andre 3000

Jerry Collins and Jonah Lomu gone from us in the space of six months. Gutting to say the very least. I'm lost for words.

Snickers Man

Very sad news.

A great player and a gentleman.


RIP

Subcomandante Marcos

I remember when he burst onto the scene watching in utter disbelief that someone that size could be that fast and be so good ball in hand. Such an exciting player to watch and every time he got the ball in the 95 world cup everyone took a breath and waited for something special to happen. Whether he was using sheer strength and speed to walk over people or showing incredible agility and quick feet to sidestep people leaving him on their ass he was a joy to watch.

RIP Jonah.

sligeach

Just heard the very sad news. Great player who unfortunately never had the career he deserved and now his life has been cut short. RIP.

thebaz

so so sad - best player I ever saw , he paved the way for professional rugby , literally transformed WC '95 and the professional game that followed , not least the success of this current great All Blacks game - massive massive loss to the game of rugby today -
R.I.P.

martyos121

martyos121 wrote: »

RIP Jonah Lomu. Even as just a casual rugby fan, I truly understand the game wouldn't be as big as it is today without him. An absolute legend.

As a casual rugby fan I agree 100%.

He was one of those very rare and special sports people who transcended the sport they played. As soon as you heard the name Jonah Lomu, you instantly had a picture in your mind's eye of this astonishing sporting phenomenon.

Desperately sad news.

Faith+1

Complete legend. RIP big man!

Al_Coholic

My favourite rugby player of all time

R.I.P

Frank Bullitt

When I was a kid my dad said "wait until you see this fella son". Jonah was just so special to watch, larger than life and the speed he went for a man that size was insane.

Seeing him knock Phil Vickery on his arse like he did was also a sight to behold.

Thoughts are with his family and friends. Taken way too early.

Really shocked and saddened by the news. His try against England with him running over Mike Catt, as commentator Keith Quinn was completely lost for words, is one of those sporting moments that will live on in my memory forever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0NLC3uk5xs

RIP big man.

swiwi_

Brings tears to the eyes. The greatest thing about Jonah wasn't his rugby achievements, but his time for people. Just like yer man there who met Jonah when awaiting a kidney transplant, Jonah was always a man for the people. From a very humble Tongan upbringing (painfully shy at the start), and has gone on to be much loved by people from all walks of life.

I read a few posts on NZ rugby forums, and people mentioning how they were travelling to places that have no interest in rugby, and the only thing they knew about NZ was Lomu.

RIP Jonah, thanks for the memories (winning try vs Aussie in 2000 my favourite, hugging grown men in a Dunedin pub...), and thoughts to his wife and 2 young boys.

clappyhappy

So sad. Happy to say I saw him play a few times and met him once in dubai. An absolute gentleman. RIP jonah xxx

vetinari

Very sad, a true legend of the game

RIP Lomu

swiwi_

As I head out to work, this vid still brings a smile.

former total

Can't believe he was still only 40. Horrible news.

salamanca22

Awwwhhh man...

He was a real hero on and off the field.

Many an afternoon was spent in front of the TV in my earlier years with my father, uncles and cousins watching him. Some of the best memories of my life. I rarely get to see any of my family now so I hold onto those memories and he features in a lot of them.

Also, Jonah Lomu rugby on the ps1 was the best rugby game ever.

Rip.

fred funk }{

Shocking

beertons

Shocked.

Stheno

RIP legend
Thoughts with his family

DDC1990

Genuinely shocked abd saddened.

The greatest ever for me despite a shortened career. His play put rugby on the map on the International stage.

RIP

A-Train

Terrible news, shocked to hear it, 40 is way too soon.

RIP a true legend of the game.

bilston

Ah no, that is very sad and shocking news to wake up to.

What a legend, perhaps the biggest legend in our game.

RIP

errlloyd

Devastating news. Hard to believe he's only 3 and a half years older than bod. He was denied a healthy body and still carved out an amazing career.

postitnote

RIP Jonah.

He completely changed the face of rugby and changed the laws of physics when it came to having a big man on the wing.

I loved that Heineken video of him recently and that video of him trampling over Underwood(?) in RWC 95 is just fantastic.

Craig Chalmers visited our school not long after that World cup, i'll always remember someone asking him how you stop Jonah Lomu, his reply, "With an elephant gun!"

Time to dust off the old Playstation for some nostalgia.

Squeeonline

Make a difference to someone else who may need a kidney transplant

http://www.ika.ie/card

game4it70

Sad sad news,RIP Jonah

dub_skav

Very sad to see him go.
A legend, the amazing combination of size, speed and balance has rarely (if ever) been replicated.
Always seemed a genuine bloke with a good sense of humour too.
A great ambassador for the game, he really was bigger than rugby and managed to bring it to new heights.

walshb

Possibly the most explosive and exciting player the game has ever seen. When he came on the scene there had been nothing close to him before. A true big and powerful and in shape athletic beast of a man.