Lomu remains talisman in New Zealand

Tag : black kidney

At 6ft 5in, Lomu was as tall as a lock, at 18st 7lb as heavy as aprop, but he could run 100 metres in 10.89sec, coupled withwonderful balance. Lomu was and is an icon.
He still has to take tablets, but that is a small price to pay forhaving his life back courtesy of the sacrifice of Grant Kereama, aradio presenter who in 2004 donated a kidney that is safely tuckedaway behind Lomu's ribcage after pioneering surgery that enabledhim to play again. He tried but failed to make the 2007 World Cupteam, appeared for Cardiff Blues and also North Harbour beforeretiring from the sport.
Yet after training with the Auckland Warriors rugby league club intheir pre-season over the New Zealand summer to get fit, he is acouple of pounds lighter than when at the top of his game eight orso years ago. “Everything's good, everything's sweetas,” he says.
Well, not quite. His second marriage failed at Christmas and he hasbeen painted as the villain for abandoning Fiona, the woman whonursed him in sickness and back to health, and stealing anotherman's young bride. For the first time, his close relationship withthe New Zealand public shows signs of strain.
His behaviour is part of the enigma. He is a bundle ofcontradictions, a Christian who committed the sin of covetinganother man's wife, in this case Nadene Quirk, who had been marriedto Jarek Goebel, the Auckland Blues wing, for only ten months.
A father figure was missing from his life. His relationship withhis own was fractured and Phil Kingsley Jones, his manager forseveral years, filled the vacuum. Lomu had turned his back on thegang-ridden streets of South Auckland, where he saw an unclemurdered.
He idolises his mother, who scrimped and saved to send him toWesley College, a private school where rugby became his raisond'être and led to fame and fortune. “The proudestmoment of my life was hearing my mum say congratulations after myfirst cap [he is All Black No 941]," he said. "She was always therefor me, still is, making sacrifices so I could go to a decentschool, to make sure I had a chance in life. To be able to repayher by playing for the All Blacks meant everything to me.”
There is a concern that, without the discipline of the rugbyenvironment and the stability of marriage, he may lose his way andhis reputed NZ$ 15million (about £5.8 million) fortune, achunk of which will go to his second wife. But he insists thatpeople should not worry for him, that business is his focus andwill keep him on the straight and narrow. Apart from his work as aglobal representative for adidas, he is working on a project, thedetails of which he cannot reveal but it necessitates him flittingaround the world. “You'll find out in a short while. It'ssomething big,” he says.
Turning to the subject of rugby, he relaxes. He fears that the AllBlacks could have lost their lustre and that the public has becomeindifferent. “Getting it back won't be easy,” Lomusays. “There's too much rugby now. It's repetitive. There'snot the buzz you used to feel when the Blacks are in town. Maybeit's just a World Cup hangover, but I'm not so sure.”
After many a memorable match against England, Lomu has the utmostrespect and admiration for the team who are touring here. He doesnot share the disdain many Kiwis have for their forwards-orientatedstyle. “At last year's World Cup semi-final in Paris a formerplayer turned to me and said, 'They [England] are the ugliest teamin the world. They're so boring.' I looked at him and said, 'Youknow what? It is about winning.' People don't remember the flashylast pass, but they do remember winners.”
He has watched only one game of rugby this year and his spare timeis taken up with cars. He collects them - the bigger, faster andmore powerful the better. He says that he wants to keep a lowprofile, yet when he turns up to take me to a meeting he does so ina 6.5-litre white BMW. His iPod holds 30,000 songs and that he oncewon the world's loudest car stereo competition is a continuingcause for celebration.
It is a metaphor for his life. He is a boy with his toys. But,given what he has achieved, he should not be chastised too much. Hedeserves the benefit of the doubt. “Life is good,” hesays. With that he roars away, waving and smiling.