Death Notices

[Pub Bore]

Very sad news.  He really changed the way rugby was played.  A man who looked like a 2nd row but with a sprinter's speed.  No longer a game for all shapes and sizes.

[JoG2]

RIP big Jonah. Some pup

[Bord na Mona man]

Lomu was the nearest thing to a Terminator we've seen in sport.

[pullhard]

I'm so upset, I really can't explain such a lovely humble family man, loved his itv coverage.

Stunning player in full flow

[AZOffaly]

RIP to the big man. As others have said, probably the first real global Rugby superstar, as his constant world travels and appearances since he retired would attest to. It seems to shocking that a man so powerful, so fast and so fit looking would be let down by his own body at such a young age. He had a tough childhood in the area he grew up in, lost a cousin to a stab attack, and was stabbed twice himself as a young man. Rugby saved him, he said, but I think he repaid the debt many times over. Very sad news.

[BennyCake]

That's sad news. Can't stand rugby, but enjoyed watching this guy. He was unstoppable. RIP.

[GaillimhIarthair]

RIP Jonah. 

Catapulted rugby into the professional era back in the mid 90's and really was its first real global superstar.  An absolute gent too by all accounts and he will be sadly missed.

[BennyHarp]

Terrible news - RIP Jonah.

As mentioned earlier he transformed rugby. Up to 1995, I'd always though of rugby as an interesting game but one that provided relatively little in the way of excitement, dominated by the pack and kicking to touch, with no real moments that would get you up off your seat. Lomu certainly changed that as he walked over the top of anyone that stood in his way, providing some of the most everlasting and exhilarating memories in World Cup, and indeed, sporting history!

Also seemed like a very nice bloke too.

[grounded]

' He famously bulldozed several English players and ran straight over the top of Mike Catt on his way to one of his FOUR tries in a World Cup semi-final'

What an Epitaph!

Just a beast of a player. The first and the best of the giant wingers. Destructive and terrifying.
  RIP Jonah

[Wildweasel74]

 The man who turned rugby on its head, Rugby greatest superstar and along with McCaw and Carter in the top 3 rugby players of all time. Gone long before his time!!

You not be forgotten big man!

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

[Wildweasel74]

And just for England

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCJfRizqcs0

[muppet]

He had 2 caps before the 1995 World Cup.

A few caps later and everyne knew who he was. I actually felt sorry for the England backs every time NZ threw the ball wide. I remember Simon Geoghegan was one of the few wingers able to tackle him on his own, although he simply grabbed a leg and hung on for dear life until Lomu fell over.

IIRC the SA scrumhalf Ven Der Westhuizen did something similar in the 1995 final. It is also sad to see the condition the latter is in nowadays.

RIP to one of a kind.

[CiKe]

He had 2 caps before the 1995 World Cup.

A few caps later and everyne knew who he was. I actually felt sorry for the England backs every time NZ threw the ball wide. I remember Simon Geoghegan was one of the few wingers able to tackle him on his own, although he simply grabbed a leg and hung on for dear life until Lomu fell over.

IIRC the SA scrumhalf Ven Der Westhuizen did something similar in the 1995 final. It is also sad to see the condition the latter is in nowadays.

RIP to one of a kind.

Very sad about Lomu, definitely the first player to make me a little excited about rugby. But as you say very sad Van der Westhuizen as well. At the time he was a big strong scrumhalf but saw him in a hotel in Dublin last year and couldn't believe it as had no ideal he had MND

[mouview]

The man who turned rugby on its head, Rugby greatest superstar and along with McCaw and Carter in the top 3 rugby players of all time. Gone long before his time!!

You not be forgotten big man!

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

How good was he though? Would he have been as effective had he not been as physically powerful, or is that simply enough in rugby? Always rated Blanco and Campese as 2 of the greatest backs I've seen.

[Wildweasel74]

faster than both , better side step and hand off than both, i have him in my team in front of either, only probably weakness was his kicking game on the turn as he didnt have to do it much. It was his speed which made him great combined with raw power.