Jonah Lomu is a giant of rugby. Although he sadly passed away unexpectedly in 2015, he remains one of the most-famous rugby players on the planet.
Over his illustrious career, Jonah Lomu played for a number of Super Rugby clubs including the Blues, Chiefs, and Hurricanes as well as teams in Wales and France. However, he’s best known for his electrifying performances in an All Blacks shirt.
Born on 12 May 1975, Jonah Lomu was only 19 when he played in his first international game in 1994. Only a year later, he was widely regarded as the best player at the 1995 Rugby World Cup. During the tournament, he scored seven tries in only five matches.
Over the course of his career, Jonah Lomu was capped 63 times for New Zealand and scored 37 tries for the national side. Due to his unique combination of power, size and speed, many opponents found him simply unstoppable. Despite his 120kg frame, he could run the 100m in 10.8 seconds. As a result, any defenders he couldn’t simply brush by were immediately outpaced. For this reason, he was regarded as ‘the first true global superstar of rugby union’ and rightly took his place in the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007 and the IRB Hall of Fame in 2011.
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In 1996 Christian Cullen was selected for his All Black debut after a Sevens season where he and Jonah Lomu tore apart everyone on the way to 18 tries in Hong Kong, including seven in one match.
New Zealand 