Lomu makes ‘baffling’ return
23 Nov 2009
Jonah Lomu made his debut for his Marseille-Vitrolles in their 64-13 drubbing over Montmelian in the French Third Division.
While his side recorded a convincing victory in front of their home crowd of 2500, Lomu said he struggled to understand his French-speaking team-mates, which he believes hindered his chances to contribute to the score.
‘It was a little difficult to understand my team-mates who were talking very fast in French,’ said Lomu. ‘I asked them to speak a little less quickly. I have to gain in confidence, and to communicate better with them. I did feel a bit lost on the pitch at times.’
The 34-year-old, however, added that he hopes this will be a fresh start to his career.
‘This was the first match, I was not expecting a miracle,’ he said. ‘My welcome was extraordinary, as much from the public as from my team-mates.’
14 Comments
23 Nov 2009, 07:48 am
legend
23 Nov 2009, 07:57 am
Huge dragon
23 Nov 2009, 08:58 am
Over rated – only good against Northern Hemisphere fairies – Never a threat to real teams
23 Nov 2009, 09:10 am
3. Oh Stew, I wonmder if you’ve ever played the game of rugby or understand the tactics involved. While you claim he never scored against any “real” teams you clearly miss the point that while the “real” teams had 4 or 5 guys marking him the likes of Cullen or Kronfeld were running in tries.
Try to see the bigger picture. This chap did more for professional rugby than a few “real” teams combined.
23 Nov 2009, 09:34 am
@ Richie-7 post 5: Well said.
23 Nov 2009, 10:45 am
I reckon he needs to accept his playing days are over. He’s 34 years old.
All time great in his prime, but too old now for a comeback imo.
23 Nov 2009, 11:28 am
Lomu is mad. Let it go mate, not worth it.
23 Nov 2009, 11:31 am
Feel sorry for the guy he had some unfortunate health issues that put a hold on what could have been an amazing career.
If he’s happy playing French 3rd division and enjoying his rugby…then good on the man!
23 Nov 2009, 13:15 pm
to be honest i agree with stew while he was good just a big dragon nothing much
23 Nov 2009, 13:15 pm
@Richie_7: Never a threat to SA – that is a real test – my opinon but far greater wings in rugbys history
23 Nov 2009, 13:27 pm
Was a great player but crazy to make a come back. Did he not have a kidney transplant? Jeepers just go and enjoy your life Lomu no need to play rugby. It will mess with your health.
Will always remember him running over Mike Cat in the 95 world cup. Brilliant.
23 Nov 2009, 13:37 pm
I assume he’s being paid for this. Can’t think of any other reason why he’d put himself through this.
23 Nov 2009, 13:39 pm
Lomu was a phenomenal player,pure and simple.His glory days might be long gone but the fact that he’s over there still playing at 34 and after the kidney disease,that says alot about his character.Sure,his comeback might not amount to much in the end but it’s still great to see the big man back in action. Also,he’s quite into bodybuilding now so he’s staying fit and in shape.Admirable I’d say..and to those people who have forgotten what a monster he was,pay a visit youtube.I recall him nearly running big Willie Meyer into a coma once!
23 Nov 2009, 17:18 pm
If I had to pick a team of prime rugby players to play for my life, a prime Jonah Lomu whould definitely have a spot. Those claiming that he wasn’t one of the all-time great wingers really puzzle me. What makes a player great?
Lomu was at the forefront of bringing rugby to a wider worldwide audience and he captured the public imagination like no player has ever since. Don’t underestimate his ablities as a player for the sake of looking intelligent. He was big, yes, but also had an unbelievable turn of speed, a step and offered a brilliant first phase option. If size alone made good rugby players, I wonder what went wrong with the likes of Dean Hall…
This man is a legend and how a player who did so much for the game cannot be regarded as a ‘great’ is beyond me. Have a word with yourselves.
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