What is Jonah Lomu Play Rugby Today?

Well here I am again stuck on the district line because of signal failure in West Ham. Even though I am near Kensington high street right now.

So I have some iPhone time to making my daily wasting time comment on unimportant rugby thing. Here going:

I read here a lot of times is posters make the comparison to Jonah Lomu.

Sometime for direct compare the winger. Like "The White Lomu" of France and also some people say George North like the Welsh Lomu and so on.

But many a times posters reply that game is move on in professional and players bigger now and player the same size is not ripple with the same waves.

I agree this point about bigger players but when on the weekend I watch Julian Savea it remind me of Lomu "Lite".
He is look similar in build and have same running style with equal balance and explosion pace and power, except to me looking about 15kg smallest and maybe a few centimeter less.

In my mind watch this great player turn out for all blacks might be closest thing to find answer to this experiment > "What if Jonah Lomu play rugby today?".

I actually believe that Jonah Lomu would still be a very good player in todays game. He was more than just big and fast.

When anyone brings up the name Jonah Lomu, then I immediately think back to that fateful day in the 1995 RWC where england were simply steam rolled by Lomu.

I still think in today's rugby he would have been a devastating runner, but the reality is defensive systems are tougher now, there is much less space to work in.

Lomu was never the all round package, his positional play lacked and he didn't like turning around.

But let's leave it at the fact that in his era he was the most devastating runner.

I'm excited to see more of Savea. Comparisons with Lomu can be a bit mean on the young fella, although he's defo done a few Lomu-like things lately. In his last game, Savea did one of those bump off type fends, where it's not a fend, but just lent forward into the would-be tackler at pace, and boom!! Sat him on his b*m, and kind of stumbled over him, only the big boys pull that off.

Hope Savea is managed in the AB system, looks like he will be.

He would be without doubt still usefull today given his extreme size, power and pace and his ability to off load in the tackle. Posters are right in saying however that he has limitations and that defences are better.

It's sad to think that we never got to see his true potential.

biltongbek wrote:When anyone brings up the name Jonah Lomu, then I immediately think back to that fateful day in the 1995 RWC where england were simply steam rolled by Lomu.

I still think in today's rugby he would have been a devastating runner, but the reality is defensive systems are tougher now, there is much less space to work in.

Lomu was never the all round package, his positional play lacked and he didn't like turning around.

But let's leave it at the fact that in his era he was the most devastating runner.

I agree with that Biltong, players and defences are much stronger but then with the game being professional Lomu would be even stronger and fitter too.

People make comparisons with Lomu every time a big powerful player comes along but when you look at the impact of players like North, Chabal, Tuilagi even people like Spies, O'Brien and Ferris have with their ball carrying and compare them to Lomu, Lomu was considerably bigger, stronger and faster than any of them.

I'd say if that 19 year old Lomu came along today he'd still take some stopping even if he wouldn't have the same impact he had in 1995.

Agree he wasn't the best all round player though and had his faults.

6ft 5, 120kg and runs the 100 metres in 10.8. Add to this a devastating side step, scary accleration, great offload and good hands and you have a one of kind rugby player. No one else has come since lomu that has had such an impact. There have been amazing wingers Habana, Williams, Rokocoko, sivivatu etc etc but none have had the combination of such raw explosive power, speed and size.

I Remember a tuilagi being called Lomu II, however he is 4 inches shorter, half a stone lighter and slower, Rokocoko is 3 inches shorter and 3 stone lighter, george north is awesome but is one inch shorter, 2 stone lighter and has a 100m best of 11.1 (slower). Lomu at his peak just combined so many unstoppable facets that if we took prime lomu and put him into the modern day game he would still score tries for fun! If we look at how big wingers like hosea gear, george north and Julian savea break tackles and score tries today then imagine what someone bigger, quicker and heavier could do !

I'm guessing that Nemani Nadolo would be the closest physical specimen, but he doesn't have the skill-set that Lomu had and sadly nor does he appear to have the mentality either

Roland Reid. The "Lomu" of Scottish rugby. Says it all really.

I will never forget his try against the Aussies in Australia in the last minute of the game to actualy win it, I cannot remember the year, I just remember him scoring, I think it was about 1996/97.

LordDowlais wrote:I will never forget his try against the Aussies in Australia in the last minute of the game to actualy win it, I cannot remember the year, I just remember him scoring, I think it was about 1996/97.

2000 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWnwI0-aeq0

Over 100,000 fans, epic match

July 2000. The 39-35 game.

It was a fitting ending to a bizarre and very entertaining game.

Nearly 110,000 Kiwi. It was very quiet for the first 15 mins or so.... you could hear a pin drop.

The sad thing was that with his kidney complaint we never saw him at his true potential even in 1995. Which frankly is scary.

Kiwis never rate Lomu as a winger but we do rate him as a finisher and an attacker. Goldie was far more a complete player and unlike Lomu he found ways not to get tackled because of his smaller size. But Lomu went looking for contact and still was able to get momentum. I don't care if you put modern players in front of him today, he had enough power and speed to still make an impact.

As for Savea, looking forward to the kid getting a chance. He looks like a genetic experiment crossing Big Joe and Big Jonah.

Savea has a sidestep.

So did PDV in press conferences. I got whiplash from his tangents.

That's called lateral thinking.











Way lateral,











thinking outside the Box.










In fact, not even outside the box, but in the veldt where there are Lions and no Ballet dancers.

biltongbek wrote:That's called lateral thinking.











Way lateral,











thinking outside the Box.










In fact, not even outside the box, but in the veldt where there are Lions and no Ballet dancers.

or Boks

Boks - Springboks.
Boks - Afrikaans for Box
Boks - Afrikaans for boxing
Boks - Afrikaans for unpleasant description of a person..

That's not a Springbok emoticon ASBO. That's a yellow card for that pun. One more like that and you´ll see (no, not a dragon or Wales but a red card for two yellows)

Any chance I could incur a team white?

Yes. Be afraid laddy!

kiakahaaotearoa wrote:Yes. Be afraid laddy!

He's not back again, is he?!

Had he been born a generation late he probably would've featured at 12 and 13 for England between 2009 an 2011, and widely slated on the internet.

Jonah Lomu was a great Player in his time,which due to his kidney problem was sadly very short.He was in the best back 3 in World Rugby most of the time.One on one he was very nearly impossible to tackle that back line was Him,Christian Cullen and jeff Wilson.
It is the Boks proud claim he never scored a try against them.TRUE but by double marking,and tackling him he created chances for Cullen and Jeff Wilson.He was big and quick,but slowish on the turn he could also step.I think he still holds the record for most RWC tries scored.Like many former greats he would still be good today but have to adapt his game accordingly.

I don't think we ever saw Jonah reach his potential. He started out his career as a coverted winger (from no 8). He was lost in the series against France. Whislt he continued to improve in 95 during 96 he diagnosed with a serious kidney disorder which hampered him for the rest of his career. It's amazing that he played at this level given his illness.