Jonah Lomu, The Man Behind The Best Sports Game Of All Time, Has Passed Away

The news has broken earlier this morning that Jonah Lomu, perhaps the greatest rugby union player in New Zealand’s history and one of union’s most iconic figures to date, has passed away at the age of 40.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

The former doctor of the All Blacks, John Mayhew, told 3 News that Lomu passed away unexpectedly this morning having only just returned from a trip to the United Kingdom with his family.

A specific cause has not been listed for his death, although many news reports have referenced his ongoing battles with a rare kidney disease that forced the player into retirement. The same disease was responsible for a scare in 2011 where Lomu’s kidney began to fail only hours after playing a starring role in the opening ceremony of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

In gaming, Lomu is also remembered for being the face of what many consider to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, sports game of all time: Jonah Lomu Rugby, which was released in 1997 for the Sega Saturn, DOS and PlayStation by Codemasters and Rage Software.

The official Wikipedia entry says Lomu was impossible to tackle in the video game “not unlike real life”. The game was so highly revered that someone earlier this month dubbed the audio from the PS1 game over this year’s World Cup final.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key earlier today said “the thoughts of the entire country are with [Lomu’s] family”, while New Zealand Rugby’s chief executive Steve Tew described Lomu as a “legend of our game” loved around the world.

[3 News]


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