Former All Blacks coach Sir Graham Henry, who coached Jonah Lomu in the champion Blues sides of 1996 and 1997, recalls his impact during the formative years of professional rugby.
"We played a pre-season game in 1996, in Greymouth of all places, against the Highlanders. There were probably 5000 people watching the game. After the game there were 4500 people around Jonah and 500 around the rest - and there were players like Zinzan Brooke and Fitzy [Sean Fitzpatrick] and all those sort of guys in the team. There were a lot of well-established international footballers - but here was this guy who was just sensational and everybody wanted a piece of him."
Sir Graham marvelled at Lomu's transition from shy teenager to an articulate, sought-after public speaker.
"He was a very shy boy. He would hardly say a couple of sentences.