Jonah Lomu's 1995 World Cup Performance
The freight train in ballet shoes who became rugby's first global superstar.
Jonah Tali Lomu (12 May 1975 – 18 November 2015) was a New Zealand professional rugby union player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential players in the history of the sport, and as one of the most talented sportsmen of all time. Lomu is widely considered to have been the first true global superstar of rugby, and consequently had a huge impact on the game. For his fast and effortless style of play, Lomu was nicknamed the 'freight train in ballet shoes', and was celebrated for his ability to shrug off tackles from multiple opponents at once.
- Tournament
- 1995 Rugby World Cup
- Team
- New Zealand All Blacks
- Position
- Open-side Flanker
- Total Tries
- 7
- Award
- IRB Player of the Tournament
- Notable Match
- Quarter-final vs France
Lore & Background
Born in Pukekohe to Tongan immigrants from Haʻapai, Lomu grew up between rural Tonga and South Auckland. Attending Wesley College, he excelled in athletics and both rugby codes before pursuing a professional career. He became the youngest ever All Black when he played his first international in 1994 at the age of 19 years and 45 days. He was acknowledged as the top player at the 1995 World Cup for his 4-try performance in the semi-final against England. He shares with South African Bryan Habana the Rugby World Cup all-time try scoring record of 15, which he accumulated in only two tournaments.
In Their Own Story
The stadium air hummed with tension as the referee blew the whistle for play. Jonah stood at the breakdown, his silhouette towering over the surrounding players in black. The ball was tapped, he snatched it from the ruck, and immediately accelerated. Defenders lunged like wolves, but they were too slow. He stepped past one, absorbed a hit from another without breaking stride, and surged toward the try line. The roar of the crowd rose to a crescendo as he crossed the white chalk.
Reader's Guide
At the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Lomu played on the wing and scored seven tries in five matches: two in the first match against Ireland in Johannesburg, a try in the quarter-final against Scotland at Loftus Versfeld, and four tries in the semi-final against England at Newlands. He wore the number 11 jersey. His seven-try tally in a single World Cup tournament was a World Cup record, not an All Black record for all competitions, and was later surpassed by Julian Savea. Lomu was 20 years old when he started his first World Cup match, which was against Scotland.
Did You Know?
- Lomu scored four tries in the 1995 World Cup semi-final against England, including a famous try where he ran over England fullback Mike Catt.
- He was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome, a genetic kidney disorder, in 1995.
- Lomu won a gold medal in rugby sevens at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.
- He was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame on 9 October 2007, and the IRB Hall of Fame on 24 October 2011.
More in Honours & Records
Elsewhere in the New Zealand All Blacks universe
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record