In rugby circles there are few names that carry the weight of Jonah Lomu. His name transcends the sport, he is synonymous with big, powerful plays, and his big hearted generosity working with multiple charities. The Wellington Sevens has been enlivened having Jonah present as the official ambassador today, and Last Word on Sport was fortunate enough to get up close and personal with the big man himself.
Wellington Sevens: Five Minutes with Jonah Lomu
It has been great seeing Jonah back on the field, a sentiment he seems to share “It’s great [being back here] I’m not that bruised as I normally would be if I was playing, but it’s absolutely amazing to be back home, and here in the nations capital.”
Looking at the results New Zealand has had Jonah was philosophical, saying “I don’t think we had mixed results, they got the wake up call they needed against Fiji, you can see the patterns starting to come around, and you saw it leading into their final game against France. They’re in good step, it’s a whole new game and Titch [New Zealand Coach Sir Gordon Tietjens] will be pushing them to step it up a gear, especially as it’s finals time.”
As the game has changed and developed there are a number of strong young teams moving up through the ranks, again a sentiment he shares “I think it’s more evenly spread amongst the nations now, they’re all pushing and punching above their weight. They’re making sure these bigger nations know they’re there, which they do. They get absolutely pushed, we used to see 80 point games, we’re not seeing that anymore. And that’s the great thing about putting this circuit on, it’s helping these nations to absolutely grow and they’ve become very competitive, with the idea of Rio being the pinnacle in 2016.”
Jonah spoke frankly about his health, “I’m good. I’ve got a beautiful wife, Nadene, who’s been my nurse and doctor at the same time. making sure that things are done well and run well. So yeah, I’ve got not complaint, I’m just absolutely enjoying my time.”
“I got out amongst the crowd yesterday with my two sons, and I had no problems, no worries. At the same time I think the greatest thing was how the people were, the festival feeling and the belief of what this tournament is all about was shown yesterday by the fans.”
Asked if he’d be back next year Jonah laughed, saying “Oh mate, I’d come back every year if I had the chance to do it. this is part and parcel of what rugby is all about. I don’t think New Zealand has really grasped the fact of what the sevens is all about, and how it is here in Wellington, we have something very special here. Something that the world would love to have on their doorstep, and we have it here in New Zealand. To showcase the talent, and the youngsters that are out here on the field, the young Polynesian teams, but also the New Zealand team just showing their skills, and the array of skills they have, showing it to the world.”
When asked about his best memories playing sevens there was no hesitation “The crowd! It’s all about the crowd. The crowd is absolutely amazing. The acoustics in this stadium is deafening, especially when the crowd gets into it. It’s finals day now, and this is when everybody will wake up. It was amazing, I was just outside before and there’s awhile lot of Fijian fans lining up trying to get tickets to support their favourite team, which has always been understandable. A lot of them I met on the flight coming down from Auckland, I got off the plane in Vegas and was catching my connection to come down yesterday morning, and there was all the Fijian people dressed up in all their gears. There was a lot of Samoan fans, and a lot of people dressed up as Tahitians…but I’m pretty sure they weren’t from there because they were guys.” he adds to more laughter “This is the great thing about sevens, the enjoyment, what it brings to the fans. My two sons have never been to a sevens tournament other than the Coral Coast sevens in Fiji. This is their second tournament, and they’re absolutely loving it. Every time we go to these things it’s an eye opener, but it’s always great to rub shoulders with the people of this beautiful sport.”
Looking at the changes that have occurred in the game of sevens Jonah commented “I don’t think the game has changed much, it’s just that the teams have caught up. The space and gap we used to have in years prior. So when you think about these teams you might have put 80 points on them, you’re putting maybe 30 points on them now. That gap is getting smaller and smaller. These newer nations that are joint the ranks that are pushing the ranks of the New Zealand sevens, look at Kenya, they’ve been a surprise package for a lot of teams. Who would have thought that five years ago, you’d never have thought [they’d be where they are]. They’re giant killers, but they’re also great at mingling with the crowd and getting the crowd excited about things, especially when they do their dances when they’re winning.”
To meet an icon like Jonah is a huge honour, and I deeply thank him for his time and his willingness to share his love of the game.
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Photo Credit: Kyle Willoughby
