Jonah Lomu, who is known throughout Oceania and by rugby supporters across the globe, shockingly died after returning home from a short family vacation in Dubai. The man from Pukekohe, a small town near Auckland, had been battling Nephrotic syndrome, a rare kidney disease, since he was just 20 years old. By 2003, he was undergoing regular dialysis treatments, up to six times a week and in 2007, he was forced to quit the game.
The memory that many will attach to him, was the semi-final match of the 1995 World Cup, where he plowed through a pair of Englishmen on his way to scoring a massive try for New Zealand, one of his four of the game.
Lomu’s final tweet: a video of fountains in Dubai, uploaded just a couple days before his sudden passing.
Dancing fountains Dubai mall #MyDubai pic.twitter.com/jGPXYBigEy
— JONAH LOMU (@JONAHTALILOMU) 16 November 2015
“Just a larger than life person.“Certainly a magnet for a lot of attention, and was probably the game’s first superstar.”
- Steve Tew, CEO of New Zealand Rugby
Can't believe that Jonah Lomu has passed away. Was with him and his wife and family for an evening last month. So sad, life is so cruel.
— Jonathan Davies OBE (@JiffyRugby) 18 November 2015
Rest in peace to my brother Jonah Lomu. Going to miss you bro□ pic.twitter.com/4owFc614FH
— Israel Folau (@IzzyFolau) 18 November 2015
¡Brillante! @rojastorrijos La llegada al cielo de #JonahLomu Magnífica viñeta de Al Nisbet en @nzherald pic.twitter.com/6WAo5f6GyZ
— Armando Vallejo (@Armando_Vallejo) 18 November 2015