The 14-year-old inside me bowed his head on Wednesday as the news filtered through social media that the indomitable gentle giant Jonah Lomu had passed away in his sleep.
That year I was 14 - 1995 - was the time that Lomu literally changed world rugby forever.
Tearing apart the English in Newlands, including running straight over the top of fullback Mike Catt despite being off-balance from the previous tackle attempt, Lomu signalled the arrival of a new breed of superstar to the rugby union stage.
It is legend that watching in the stands was billionaire media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, who was so impressed with the 6-foot-5 and 120kg specimen he became convinced this here footy game had the personalities to open new television markets, for big, big money.
Like his erstwhile sparring partner Kerry Packer, Murdoch came from the ruthless mindset where you can sell me your sport, or I can just buy it out from under you.
Packer tried just that when the IRB declared union an "open game" and put the death knell in amateurism for the code in August 1995.
The Packer-backed World Rugby Corporation signed up almost all of the All Blacks, Wallabies and Springboks before they relented and returned to their home unions, who took Murdoch's massive $550 million dollar deal - for 10 years exclusive broadcasting rights - to launch Super Rugby and the Tri-Nations.
Lomu's face and presence was such a huge part of taking the professional marketing concepts into new worlds.
Causal watchers didn't need to understand a thing about rugby's mauling laws and scrum interpretations to know the massive Tongan-Kiwi blasting foes aside was required viewing.
It was an incredible time, and we had no idea then it was all borrowed time.
There should have been no medical way that Lomu came back to the All Blacks for the 1997 end-of-year tour, after the diagnosis of his rare kidney disease nephrotic syndrome, and would still play as well as he did.
I would argue both his tries in the 1999 RWC semifinal against the French were the superior of his 1995 effort against Catt and co - he beat more players and covered more ground to do so - although the stain the game's defeat left of the national psyche was such that virtually no feature of this match is remembered other than the result.
Lomu loomed large over everything, leaving the ripples in his wake long after his departure.
I remembered when I worked in Pukekohe, covering the excitment of Counties Manukau being allowed to play home games at Growers Stadium again and duly delivering with their stunning 17-6 upset of Auckland to begin the 2008 Air New Zealand Cup.
We checked the records and it had been 10 years since Counties had last beaten Auckland. A big part of the reason? Jonah played that day in 1998.
The biggest tragedy from this icon's final departure on Wednesday is while his career as player had long since finished, his life as a humanist was only just kicking off.
Having been an ambassador at two consecutive world cups, Lomu commanded an audience not only with his history, but his genial nature and warmth for people of all walks of life.
Those who walked beside him felt that strength, and it is a tragedy such an aura is gone from this earth so soon.
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The melancholy nature of the week continued for me as this fan of professional wrestling farewell yet another legend in 2015.
Former four-time World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel passed away on November 15, aged 80, after some long-term health problems.
A second-generation wrestler after his father Warren Bockwinkel, Nick's star rose as a top performer in the American Wrestling Association, eventually replacing the company owner Verne Gagne, when he finally retired, as the featured star in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Despite already being in his 40s at the time, Bockwinkel's abilities continued to improve so even watching today, his impressive technical skills and smooth movements in the ring are undeniable.
As a villain, Bockwinkel was also known for his calm demeanour and articulate delivery when giving interviews, thereby infuriating audiences who knew they were being talked down to even if they didn't understand his vast vocabulary.
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How much could the Wanganui Under 18 Girls Sevens team have used some goal line technology or a TMO in their final tournament game against Wellington Gold at Cooks Gardens last Saturday?
Trailing 12-7, Wanganui's Lillie Solar made a great break through the centre of the field and had burned off all chasers, as well as referee Noah Viliamu, as she planted the ball under the posts.
Admittedly, Solar's ball security at the final moment was pretty bad as the ball did move away from four of her fingers and bounced off the turf after the initial moment of impact.
Nonetheless, Wanganui Chronicle photographer Bevan Conley was faithfully snapping away behind the posts and as can be seen in the photographs, less than a tuppence worth of downward pressure - finger tip control - is usually still enough.
Not this time. Try disallowed and Wanganui would go on to be beaten 22-12.
Them's the breaks, Lillie, hopefully you'll have better luck if you one day climb into the professional ranks where they can access camera angles everywhere from the goalposts to the referee's lapel.