Mr Rugby RIP

When I was growing up, I wasn't that familiar with Rugby, let alone the distinction between Union and League, but there was one undoubted superstar who cut through it all - Jonah Lomu, as towering in reputation as he was in stature and humility.  The only other rugby player I knew and at a considerable remove from Lomu's awesome presence was Will Carling and the latter mostly through his dalliance with Diana, Princess of Wales.  Jonah Lomu was simply to me Mr Rugby.
Lomu was a role model to all and to think he has died aged just 40 is unthinkably tragic, especially for his young family.  His sense of being a good sport was in a humourous advert for Heineken where he hid inside a Dublin pub arcade machine and doled out signed rugby balls when players got the right answers, usually with personalised messages that made the punters bemused (the prank was revealed at the end of the advert).  Now, some might take issue with respected legends appearing in commercial adverts, but everyone is doing it (doesn't make it right but it's the new normal and so long as you can do with humour it's not so bad) and I don't begrudge Lomu earning some extra money for his family.  Cut short in his prime because of a rare kidney disease, he remains the leading try scorer in a World Cup without ever winning it.  He died just a day after touching back down in New Zealand in his sleep after an extended stay in England but at least he saw New Zealand win the World Cup again before he left us.