Jonah show hits Paris

By WYYNE GRAY

The Jonah Lomu show rumbled into Paris yesterday. It is almost like the All Blacks are incidental; the clamour was all about the big man when the side reached their hotel.

It was nothing like the scenes Lomu created in South Africa during the 1995 World Cup. That was bedlam and pandemonium in the same breath.

After his deeds at Twickenham last weekend, the French media wanted to hear from Lomu. The message came through. Lomu would speak when the side arrived in the capital from their rural retreat in Chantilly.

The media gathered three deep on the footpath waiting for the All Black bus. Some almost sank into the sidewalk after waiting an hour, but no one left.

The team arrived and Lomu, clad in his adidas tracksuit with his sunglasses perched high on his forehead above his goatee-bearded chin, soon hit the rostrum.

He was back in France after playing just one test on the 2000 trip when he returned home with a fractured cheekbone.

It was the usual stuff from the questioners and Lomu. Pretty casual, nothing awkward, just a time for all parties to reacquaint themselves on the international rugby circuit.

The French and Lomu have a keen interest in each other after Lomu made his teenage test debut against them in 1994. The Tricolors were the side who Lomu liked to gauge himself most against. French flair meets Polynesian power.

Old adversary Emile Ntamack is still a favourite and they keep in touch.

It raised a hefty Lomu laugh when he was told his next adversary, Vincent Clerc, began playing Lomu rugby on Playstation two years ago and always picked Lomu as his computer opponent.

The All Black was sure the computer technology had moved on, certainly it was far more sophisticated in the All Blacks analysis unit.

Rugby and playing well was his sole emphasis on this tour.

With the side having a free day yesterday to take in the sights and sounds of Paris, Lomu said he was staying put.

"I won't wander out at all. It is business this trip. I want to focus on wanting to play," he said.

"A lot of the guys do what they want to do. For me it is more rest and recovery to make sure everything is right in my mind for the weekend."

It was a case of staying in to keep clear of the adulation and crush on the streets, and also to keep a promise he made about getting his rugby right on this trip.

There had been another chat with old friend Eric Rush. It was time to continue the momentum from Twickenham.

"I have done everything physically to get my game right, now it is just the mental side."

Lomu said the French looked as though they had a potent combination.

"With the French there is just something about them. I guess it is a lot like their fashion, you know, it's either in with you or it's not, and when they chuck the ball around it's awesome to see. Just hopefully you are not on the receiving end of it."

Lomu's kidney problem was stable, though he likened the handicap to carrying a carton behind him: "You have to work twice as hard as what you should be.

"To me it is more a mental battle than anything else. It is trying to get up in the morning. Sometimes you wake up and your body is swollen and you don't know why, those sort of things.

"But to me the All Black jersey means so much. Representing my country, that's what drives me to get up in the morning."

He was aware of how Joeli Vidiri and others had suffered from a similar condition.

"I treasure life like anything. I wake up and the first thing I say to myself is 'another day above ground is always a good one'."

Once he has uttered his article of faith today, Lomu will open his notes, think about the French, think about his defence, and think about winning on Sunday.