Graham Henry on Jonah Lomu's death: 'It's just a hell of a shock'

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.

"He was educated through the game to a large extent. In recent times he had become a highly sought-after ambassador for the game. He spoke exceptionally well. I remember hearing him speak at a couple of functions and being very, very impressed.

"It is just so sad, I saw him at the World Cup and he looked so well. It's just a hell of a shock."

Sir Graham recalled meeting Lomu and his family during at game at last year's U20 world championships, where Lomu served as a tournament ambassador.

"I sat down with him and talked to his kids and his wife Nadene and thought 'hell, this guy has got it all together'. It's just bloody sad."

Talking to Paul Henry this morning, Graham Henry spoke about Lomu's fitness during his time as Blues coach.

"We always questioned his fitness - when I was coaching him in '96, '97, we didn't know anything about the kidney problem. So we did a 3km run as part of the fitness test in those days and he was always last. We always had to try and get a mate to run beside him to push him along. And I didn't find this totally acceptable ... So I gave him a bit of a nudge. But we found out [about his disease] later."