Jonah Lomu in action, at the Rugby World Cup in 1995. Photo / Photosport
Tuesday marks 10 years since the death of the man who, in rugby union terms, changed everything.
It was November 18, 2015, when the great All Blacks wing, Jonah Lomu, died in Auckland from a heart attack linked to his long-term kidney disorder.
But the legacy that Lomu left behind was immeasurable.
The world of rugby union was mourning on that day in 2015 – even Queen Elizabeth II paid tribute – as news filtered through that one of the game’s most influential and most instantly recognisable players had left us.
Lomu’s giant stature, ursine power and unprecedented agility captivated audiences globally. Lomu was a star in New Zealand, and around the world.
This year also marks 30 years since the Pukekohe-born Lomu’s magnum opus, an era-defining, earth-shattering run of performances at the 1995 World Cup.
Lomu laid waste to almost all comers in that tournament as New Zealand finished as runners-up to hosts South Africa, but it was against England in the semi-final where the All Black showed his terrifying talent.
Lomu scored four tries in the demolition, making mincemeat of the English defence in the process. Captain Will Carling afterwards described him as a “freak”.
After the World Cup, the sport turned professional, with Lomu, the global superstar, at the forefront.
The aftermath of that tournament was a surreal time for players, executives and coaches alike, as everyone rushed to adapt to a new age of salaries, contracts and commerciality.
One such professional oddity came a mere month after rugby’s final amateur showpiece.
On the wings for England in that infamous semi-final were the Underwood brothers: Rory and, the man tasked with marking Lomu, Tony.
Both former Leicester wings, Rory is the elder of the pair, a two-time Lion, and holds England’s test try-scoring record to this day; Tony scored the crucial, length-of-the-field try in England’s 1995 quarter-final win over Australia and went on the 1997 Lions tour.
Both were involved in what happened next.
Finding contemporary avenues to honour Lomu is not easy.
Indeed, last month TNT unveiled its Lomu: The Lost Tapes documentary, offering never-before-seen footage, but the story of one of the wing’s quirkiest moments has never been fully told. Until now.
It was a month after the 1995 World Cup, with rugby now professional, and Rory Underwood received a call from a sports client manager called Diana van Bunnens.
At the time, van Bunnens was working for Park Associates, a company owned by Jon Holmes, the agent of Gary Lineker (and still to this day).
Van Bunnens explained to Rory Underwood that Pizza Hut had been in touch and wanted to film an advertisement with him, Tony, and their mother, Annie. Oh, and Lomu would be the co-star.
The premise was clear: Lomu would be eating pizza and Tony would be looking on with envy.
Then, Rory and Annie would storm in and, with comic brilliance, Annie would do what no English player a month earlier had properly achieved; she would “tackle” Lomu, pilfer the pizza and save her sons from further All Black-based misery.
“After Diana called, I asked Tony and Mum if they fancied it,” Rory tells Telegraph Sport.
“It was almost just the intrigue of seeing an advert filmed. It wasn’t much more than that, per se, it was just interesting to see how an advert got done – and all the shenanigans that goes along with it.
“I’m only a bit-part in it, really. Tony was a major part because he and Jonah were the main protagonists.
“Tony did the bulk of the work as he’s asking Jonah these questions about the pizza, and then all I had to do was walk in with my mum – and then she flies in with a tackle. Mum was the star at the end.”
Whose idea it was to organise such an advertisement remains a mystery – indeed, if you are reading this, then please get in touch – but lampooning English sporting agony became a common theme of Pizza Hut at the time.
Sir Gareth Southgate, Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle became subjects of Pizza Hut advertisements after their penalty shoot-out gaffes with England.
But the Underwoods were game. Annie was “always up for a laugh”, Tony said.
“It was nice to be able to take the p*** out of ourselves a bit”.
So, the trio trekked from the North East and Leicester respectively to Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, between Barnet and Watford, for the shoot. Lomu and the Underwoods were never actually in the same studio, with his segments shot in Auckland and some nifty editing stitching it all together.
“We said to mum that if she didn’t want to do it then she didn’t have to,” Rory explains.
“But it was game on. It was a bit of excitement to head down to London from the North East. I think we put her up in a hotel somewhere. A whole new experience for her.”
Tony says: “The whole thing was weird. We were in a studio where they had mocked up this set. I’m not the tallest in the world anyway, but they had me in this oversized changing room with my feet dangling, to make me look small.
“Jonah was done in a green room in Auckland and we just had to pretend, respond and talk as if he were there. I had no idea what was going on, really. I hadn’t done anything on TV, really, but the editing skill was amazing.
“They could have stitched me up – and, to a certain extent, some would say that they did.
“But we just rocked up, got filmed, 20 different angles and 20 different takes because, if I didn’t say my line well enough, then...”
All three of the Underwoods received a fee for their involvement, which was a novelty given rugby’s recent foray into professionalism as well as, naturally, a year’s supply of Pizza Hut vouchers.
“Team-mates took the p--- a bit, but they ended up very jealous,” Rory says.
Annie, who was already known for her ferocious support of her sons at Twickenham, sadly passed away earlier this year, but her link to the sport and her two rugby-playing sons will be forever immortalised in that ad.
“Mum had the starring role,” Tony says. “I couldn’t tackle Jonah and neither could a lot of people in the world, but she hangs her handbag up, tackles him, and we win the pizza. Help can come in the unlikeliest places.”
Rory adds: “The bit that they did at the end was actually an out-take. When Mum gets thrown the pizza box at the very end, and she catches the end of the box and says ‘ouch’ – that was not planned.
“That particular one, the end of the box obviously caught her finger, and she said ‘ouch’, and they kept that one in.”
Tony continues: “If people stopped me in the street after they’d either call me Rory, want to talk about Mum, or want to talk about Jonah.
“But, regardless of the ad, people will always associate me, being the man supposed to be marking Jonah, with him scoring four tries in that semi-final. When people want to talk about my rugby career, it’s rarely about what I did, more that day. It was a significant chapter in rugby history; a wonderful period. He was such a big character.”
On field, on screen; Lomu was the biggest of characters, one who will never be forgotten.
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