Jonah Lomu has revolutionized the modern rugby – SPIEGEL ONLINE

One moment, an attack, a duel took Jonah Lomu in 1995 with an impact world-famous. For his opponent Mike Catt, however, it was the ultimate humiliation. The two met in the semifinals of the Rugby World Cup in South Africa, Catt played for the host, Lomu in New Zealand, the All Blacks.

Lomu was only 20 years old and had played twice for the national team of his country. Nevertheless, he made it to the tournament squad, this gigantic boy of 1.96 meters and nearly 120 kilograms of sprinting the 100 meters already at school in less than eleven seconds.

In the semi-final, Lomu grabbed a loose ball and ran toward the end zone, the in-goal, to score. The first enemy he shook off, the second touched him with a tackle at the ankle, Lomu came to stumble, but stayed on his feet. “I already knew that it would be the same pretty hurt,” said Catt later recalled to what followed.

Lomu overran the much smaller British (1.77 meters, 77 kilograms) easy when he was not there. Catt was like flattened at the bottom. “I turned around and just saw how Jonah made the points.” Such dynamics had not seen it before. A word to read since then repeatedly in the obituaries of former coaches, teammates and opponents – a “Game Changer” was Lomu. Already with his first major appearance, he had changed his sport. but

Catt was now only the “doormat”. Nevertheless, he said he had never played against a grander athletes. “Me also he made world famous, though not quite as I had imagined,” Catt said.

Lomu but became a national hero and gave a big boost in popularity Rugby. “He has the face of modern rugby changed,” said IOC President Thomas Bach, when he learned of the death of the New Zealander.

“We are shocked and deeply saddened,” wrote New Zealand Association CEO Steve Tew on Twitter: “Jonah was a legend of our game and loved by many fans around the world.” Prime Minister John Key said his nation was devastated: “Jonah was a great ambassador for his sport and a great ambassador for New Zealand.”

In 1995 a kidney ailment in Lomu was diagnosed, the disease was getting worse, but Lomu match. In 2004 he received a kidney transplant, had to deal with complications, managed later still a comeback and ended his career of 2007.

Early on Wednesday morning, the legendary All Black died of history at the age of just 40 years of sudden cardiac arrest , “With great sadness I must announce that my husband gelieber Jonah Lomu has died in the night. As everyone can imagine, this is a terrible loss for our family”, informed Lomus wife Nadene. The pair has worked two young sons, aged five and six years.

In the recently ended previous Rugby World Cup in England he had as a TV pundit. According to his manager, he had come home the night before his death from a short holiday in Dubai to Auckland.

At the World Cup in England, the All Blacks have won the title, which had never been granted Lomu. It was in 1999 failed in the semifinals in 1995 in the final after Lomu had left no chance in the semifinal Catt and his team and had suddenly become world famous.

“It’s simply tragic if such a good guy dies so early,” Catt ESPN.com said: “If there was someone in this world who would have deserved the world title, then Jonah Lomu . “