Fans take Lomu test in latest attempt to gauge wing's impact on rugby

Jonah Lomu says rugby's blend of power, physicality, speed and technique is what makes it special.

Rugby fans in England are being challenged, not to bend it like Beckham, but to "smash it like Lomu".

New Zealand rugby legend Jonah Lomu set the rugby world alight two decades ago when, at 20 years old, he ran in four tries against England in the 1995 World Cup semifinal in Cape Town.

Fans in the Richmond Fanzone in London have been challenged to recreate the force created by the 1.96m, 120kg former All Black winger.

They were given the opportunity to meet Lomu before stepping up to the tackle bag, a BT Sport Rugby Tonight's Smash-O-Meter, to see if they could better his score, calculated by the force generated when hitting the bag.

The one-off installation was part of a MasterCard campaign.

Jonah Lomu watches a fan try to replicate his impact in the Smash-O-Meter challenge at the Richmond Fanzone in London.

"The combination of power, physicality, speed and technique is part of what makes rugby totally unique and in my eyes sets it apart from any other sport," said Lomu, who jointly holds the record for most tries scored (15) in a World Cup.

"It's great to see fans from across the world coming together to celebrate the World Cup in England and take on this challenge."

Dr John Biggins, Cambridge University lecturer and theoretical physicist, has studied the force exerted on a player when trying to tackle the Kiwi rugby giant.

"The force of him running into an opponent is the equivalent of 6000 Newtons," he said. "Which in laymen's terms equates to a mass of 600kg sitting on you, an average international back line combined."