In the summer of 1995, England were looking to go one better than the previous tournament and win the World Cup. They reached the semi-final with high hopes, ready to take on the formidable All Blacks. Within a minute the contest was over: Jonah Lomu had trampled over the English defence to score a stunning try, and would go on to score three more in one of the most destructive performances ever seen on a rugby field. Jonah Lomu, the greatest icon of modern rugby, was born.
Astonishingly, the New Zealand coaches had doubts about selecting the 6’4″, 19 stone winger with the speed of an Olympic sprinter and the strength of an ox. Even Lomu himself wondered if he would be good enough to make the grade.
In Lomu’s remarkable autobiography, he looks back on his tough upbringing in South Auckland and the battles he has fought to overcome a rare kidney complaint that, by 2003, meant he needed a transplant and dialysis five times a week. He talks about the pressures of being the world’s most recognizable rugby star, the offers that came in from rugby league and American football, and why he turned them down to stay true to the All Black jersey that means so much to him.