WELLINGTON: All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu, whose power and pace revolutionized rugby and whose humility and grace won millions of fans, died early Wednesday, New Zealand Rugby said. He was 40.
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew said the union was “shocked and deeply saddened” to learn of Lomu’s unexpected death.
“Jonah was a legend of our game and loved by his many fans both here and around the world,” he said. “We’re lost for words. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to Jonah’s family.”
Lomu had dealt with the severe kidney ailment nephrotic syndrome since 1995, which forced his premature retirement from international rugby in 2002. He played 63 tests for the All Blacks, scoring 43 tries and was the prototype of a new type of backline player who combined pace and size.
Lomu underwent a kidney transplant in 2004 and tried unsuccessfully to resume his professional career in Wales and France after that operation and despite doctors’ misgivings.
While his health seemed to improve he couldn’t regain his former dominance and eventually retired from all rugby in 2006. He remained an active ambassador for the sport, however, and remained a huge fan favorite, feted around the world.
He most recently attended the Rugby World Cup in Britain in September and October, where he seemed fit and in good health and where New Zealand retained the title.
But he has battled bouts of serious ill health in recent years. In 2011 his body rejected his donor kidney and as hopeful of undergoing a second transplant operation.
Lomu was his devastating best at the 1995 and 1999 World Cups, scoring 15 tries in 11 games but never winning the trophy.
The stabbing death of a friend as a teenager steered Lomu away from street gangs in the blue-collar suburbs of Auckland where he grew up. Rugby gave him new direction. Aged just 19 for his test debut, Lomu was a colossus for a winger: 1.96 meters tall (6-foot-4); 119 kilograms (262 pounds).
Prime Minister John Key said he was deeply saddened by news of Lomu’s passing.
“The thoughts of the entire country are with his family,” Key said.
New Zealand All Blacks great Jonah Lomu dies aged 40
New Zealand All Blacks great Jonah Lomu dies aged 40
Real Madrid to play Benfica, PSG face Monaco in Champions League play-offs
- Real Madrid were handed a quick rematch with Jose Mourinho’s Benfica in the draw for the Champions League play-off round on Friday, while reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain will face dome
PARIS: Real Madrid were handed a quick rematch with Jose Mourinho’s Benfica in the draw for the Champions League play-off round on Friday, while reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain will face domestic rivals Monaco.
Benfica beat Real 4-2 in their final game of the league phase on Wednesday, with a 98th-minute goal by goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin proving decisive in allowing the Portuguese side to snatch the last play-off spot ahead of Marseille, who were eliminated altogether.
The defeat also nudged Madrid out of the top eight places in the league standings, which give direct access to the last 16, forcing them into this extra round.
Benfica staged a remarkable recovery to take a play-off place — they finished 24th in the 36-team league phase, the last qualifying spot — by winning three of their last four matches after losing their opening four games.
Mourinho, 63, returned to the Lisbon giants for a second spell as coach in September. He was in charge of Real from 2010 to 2013 and won one La Liga title and one Copa del Rey while also taking them to the Champions League semifinals in each of his three campaigns.
The clubs played each other in the 1962 European Cup final, with Benfica winning 5-3 to claim the last of their two titles to date.
PSG slipped out of the top eight after winning only one of their last five outings in the league phase and finishing in 11th place.
They will go to Monaco for the first leg and will be wary of the principality side who beat them there in Ligue 1 in November.
However, 2004 Champions League finalists Monaco have been in poor form, with just one win in six games since the turn of the year.
They are 10th in Ligue 1, 21 points behind leaders PSG. However, a 0-0 draw with Juventus on Wednesday allowed them to secure a play-off place in Europe.
Newcastle go to Azerbaijan
PSG also beat French opposition in the play-off round last season, hammering Brest 10-0 on aggregate before going on to lift the trophy for the first time in their history.
Elsewhere, Newcastle United will be strong favorites against surprise packages Qarabag of Azerbaijan, with the first leg to come in Baku.
PSG and Newcastle know that if they win, they will play either Barcelona or Chelsea in the last 16. Real’s possible last-16 opponents are Manchester City or Sporting, which would mean yet another trip to Lisbon in the latter case.
Bodo/Glimt, Norwegian champions in four of the last six years, were also surprise qualifiers for this stage and have been rewarded with a tie against last season’s runners-up Inter Milan.
Juventus will take on Galatasaray, while Atletico Madrid face Club Brugge. Borussia Dortmund play Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen were drawn against Olympiacos.
The two-legged play-off ties will take place in February, with the winners advancing to the last 16 in March.
Already through to that stage are the top eight teams from the league phase, including five English Premier League sides in Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and City, as well as Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Sporting.
This season’s Champions League final will be played in Budapest on May 30.
