ISA NACEWA ONLY got a single chance to play alongside Jonah Lomu, but he was left with a lasting impression of the legendary All Blacks wing.
It came in 2010, with Lomu’s international career having ended eight years before and in a game that most involved were viewing as a bit of a jolly. Not Lomu.
Lomu on the run at the 1995 World Cup. INPHO
INPHO
The Classic All Blacks versus a World XV in Kuala Lampur in a once-off competition known as the ‘Spirit of Rugby Challenge’ in 2010.
So many things can seem apt when we look into the past after the death of a legendary sports person, but Lomu’s involvement that day in Malaysia was entirely appropriate. He truly embodied the spirit of the game, a beast on the pitch and a gentle giant off it.
The profile he garnered through his barely-believable prowess with ball in hand was used only for good right up until his death, with Lomu’s charity work with Unicef and Kidney Kids NZ remaining of utmost importance to him.
Nacewa, a native of Auckland like Lomu, greeted the news with sadness yesterday.
It’s a tragedy. I knew him, I was in absolute shock this morning when I woke up,” said an emotional Nacewa, who also cited the deaths of Norm Berryman and Jerry Collins in pointing out that it has been a tough year for New Zealand rugby.
“I’ve had lunch with Jonah a good load of times, he’d always be floating around the sushi joint in Auckland that everyone usually goes to. I played against him when he was at North Harbour, played with him with the Classic All Blacks.
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“He just changed the game really, he’s a global superstar, but you get talking to him and he’s as humble as can be. He’ll easily sit down and talk to anyone.”
Lomu bypasses Tony Underwood. EMPICS Sport
EMPICS Sport
Nacewa is seven years younger than the 63-times capped All Black was when he passed away, and it’s unsurprising that Lomu was one of the Leinster captain’s heroes when he was coming through the provincial ranks with Auckland.
“Yeah, he’s an absolute hero,” said Nacewa. “He changed the way wing play can be done and there’s not a week that goes by where you don’t see him running over Mike Catt on a TV in New Zealand. It’s always on a billboard or on every highlight reel in New Zealand.
“If you think of New Zealand rugby icons he’s, if not it, one of the icons of New Zealand rugby. That will never change, he’s a global superstar. He’d leave New Zealand and get swamped just as much. My thoughts go to his family.”
Lomu grew up on the tough streets of Ōtara and Mangere East in Auckland, as well as spending some years in his parents’ native Tonga – “a very tough upbringing in those neighbourhoods and he came from nothing,” according to Nacewa.
Overcoming that background was not easy but Lomu fought every inch of the way and came through the rugby nursery that is Wesley College to burst almost directly onto the international scene. His stunning actions at the 1995 World Cup will never be forgotten.
Lomu starred internationally for almost eight years in total, scoring 37 Test tries despite a diagnosis of nephrotic syndrome in ’95, but it was in the latter stages of his career that Nacewa came to know Lomu.
2003 saw Lomu put on dialyses three times a week, before he underwent a kidney transplant.
Lomu in action for Marseille-Vitrolles in 2009. AP / Press Association Images
AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
Despite the severe health issues, Lomu somehow fought his way back to play for Cardiff Blues in 2005/06, return to North Harbour the following season and even play for French side Marseille-Vitrolles in 2009/10.
“It is inspirational what he did,” said Nacewa. “He went off to Cardiff and then he came back to North Harbour and in between all that he kept kick-boxing and the like.”
Nacewa’s chance to finally line up with Lomu came in 2010 in Malaysia, when the pair were joined in a Classic All Blacks side that also included the likes of Andrew Mehrtens, Byron Kelleher, Carlos Spencer and Jerry Collins.
Even in the laidback surroundings of that contest, Nacewa could see exactly why Lomu will remain one of the most iconic rugby players of them all.
We were with Classic All Blacks and it’s a different atmosphere in itself,” said Nacewa. “What struck me was we were playing a World XV and he was preparing like it was a Test match.
“He was in the corner with a towel over his head and his headphones on. There was no need… well it’s a very different sort of environment, it’s like playing with the BaaBaas and there he is preparing quietly to himself.
“You could see that he knew what type of global superstar that he was but he was just so humble that you could sit down and talk to him. He’d talk to anyone, he’d talk to strangers on the street.”
Isa Nacewa was speaking at a Life Style Sports event.Life Style Sports has launched its international online delivery service that will send replica jerseys around the world.
'Jonah would talk to anyone, he'd talk to strangers on the street'
ISA NACEWA ONLY got a single chance to play alongside Jonah Lomu, but he was left with a lasting impression of the legendary All Blacks wing.
It came in 2010, with Lomu’s international career having ended eight years before and in a game that most involved were viewing as a bit of a jolly. Not Lomu.
The Classic All Blacks versus a World XV in Kuala Lampur in a once-off competition known as the ‘Spirit of Rugby Challenge’ in 2010.
So many things can seem apt when we look into the past after the death of a legendary sports person, but Lomu’s involvement that day in Malaysia was entirely appropriate. He truly embodied the spirit of the game, a beast on the pitch and a gentle giant off it.
The profile he garnered through his barely-believable prowess with ball in hand was used only for good right up until his death, with Lomu’s charity work with Unicef and Kidney Kids NZ remaining of utmost importance to him.
Nacewa, a native of Auckland like Lomu, greeted the news with sadness yesterday.
“I’ve had lunch with Jonah a good load of times, he’d always be floating around the sushi joint in Auckland that everyone usually goes to. I played against him when he was at North Harbour, played with him with the Classic All Blacks.
“He just changed the game really, he’s a global superstar, but you get talking to him and he’s as humble as can be. He’ll easily sit down and talk to anyone.”
Nacewa is seven years younger than the 63-times capped All Black was when he passed away, and it’s unsurprising that Lomu was one of the Leinster captain’s heroes when he was coming through the provincial ranks with Auckland.
“Yeah, he’s an absolute hero,” said Nacewa. “He changed the way wing play can be done and there’s not a week that goes by where you don’t see him running over Mike Catt on a TV in New Zealand. It’s always on a billboard or on every highlight reel in New Zealand.
“If you think of New Zealand rugby icons he’s, if not it, one of the icons of New Zealand rugby. That will never change, he’s a global superstar. He’d leave New Zealand and get swamped just as much. My thoughts go to his family.”
Lomu grew up on the tough streets of Ōtara and Mangere East in Auckland, as well as spending some years in his parents’ native Tonga – “a very tough upbringing in those neighbourhoods and he came from nothing,” according to Nacewa.
Overcoming that background was not easy but Lomu fought every inch of the way and came through the rugby nursery that is Wesley College to burst almost directly onto the international scene. His stunning actions at the 1995 World Cup will never be forgotten.
Lomu starred internationally for almost eight years in total, scoring 37 Test tries despite a diagnosis of nephrotic syndrome in ’95, but it was in the latter stages of his career that Nacewa came to know Lomu.
2003 saw Lomu put on dialyses three times a week, before he underwent a kidney transplant.
Despite the severe health issues, Lomu somehow fought his way back to play for Cardiff Blues in 2005/06, return to North Harbour the following season and even play for French side Marseille-Vitrolles in 2009/10.
“It is inspirational what he did,” said Nacewa. “He went off to Cardiff and then he came back to North Harbour and in between all that he kept kick-boxing and the like.”
Nacewa’s chance to finally line up with Lomu came in 2010 in Malaysia, when the pair were joined in a Classic All Blacks side that also included the likes of Andrew Mehrtens, Byron Kelleher, Carlos Spencer and Jerry Collins.
Even in the laidback surroundings of that contest, Nacewa could see exactly why Lomu will remain one of the most iconic rugby players of them all.
“He was in the corner with a towel over his head and his headphones on. There was no need… well it’s a very different sort of environment, it’s like playing with the BaaBaas and there he is preparing quietly to himself.
“You could see that he knew what type of global superstar that he was but he was just so humble that you could sit down and talk to him. He’d talk to anyone, he’d talk to strangers on the street.”
Isa Nacewa was speaking at a Life Style Sports event. Life Style Sports has launched its international online delivery service that will send replica jerseys around the world.
Jonah Lomu had all the qualities you could wish for in a hero — Brian O’Driscoll
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Classic All Blacks Isa Nacewa Jonah Lomu Legend Leinster New Zealand