Before Rugby World Cup 1995 few people outside of New Zealand had heard of Jonah Lomu. By the time the 20 year old left South Africa weeks later with a runners-up medal his was the name on everybody’s lips.
The Springboks may have defeated New Zealand in the final but Lomu, who the year before had become the youngest ever All Black at 19 years and 45 days on his debut against France, had captured as many headlines himself as Player of the Tournament.
Lomu, his powerful physique never seen before in a wing and with a devastating pace to match, had shown glimpses of his talent in New Zealand’s Pool C game with Ireland, handing off four players in an 80 metre run to set up a Josh Kronfeld try.
However it was on 27 May in Johannesburg that the world was well and truly introduced to the phenomenon that is Jonah Lomu. His four-try haul in New Zealand’s 45-29 semi-final victory at Ellis Park left England shell-shocked.
At the kick off New Zealand reversed the kick and within minutes Lomu had scored one of the most memorable tries in World Cup history, handing off Tony Underwood, out-pacing Will Carling and running over Mike Catt to the line.
“To be honest I don’t remember a whole lot about the England game,” revealed Lomu, who has scored a record 15 tries across two Rugby World Cups, eight of them in 1999, a record for one tournament.
“As I said at the time it was like I was in fairyland when I came off that field. I was really hyped before the match and as it turned out it was just one of those games where everything fell into place.”
Lomu, who was diagnosed with the rare kidney disorder Nephrotic Syndrome in 1996 and underwent dialysis earlier this year, is the third most prolific try scorer in All Black Test history with 37 in 63 Tests.