Young Jonah, just doing what came so naturally

Brendan Gallagher delves into some of rugby’s most enduring images, their story and why they are still so impactful

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What’s happening here?

It’s a perfect Sunday evening at Loftus Versveld in Pretoria in June, 1995 and the sun is shining, as it always does in those parts and the air is like champagne. Jonah Lomu just turned 20, and at the very height of his athletic powers has just shredded veteran Scotland centre, Scott Hastings, on the outside and is gliding in for yet another try.

The Scots had put up a decent fight in this World Cup quarterfinal against a seemingly invincible All Blacks side before losing 48-30 but there was no stopping Lomu. A week later he scored four tries against England in a memorable semifinal victory. A rare new talent was moving among us.

What’s the story behind the picture?

Many people seem to think the Jonah story started with those four tries against England in the 1995 World Cup semi-final but actually, he had already been lighting up the rugby world for two years at the Hong Kong Sevens and was always going to be a huge hit in South Africa.

As a schoolboy, he played No.8 and was the star man when New Zealand Schools put 50 points on the touring England Schools XV in 1993 but, viewing his speed and off-loading ability, NZ Sevens coach Gordon Tietjens and his skipper Eric Rush were keen to get him involved with the Kiwi Sevens squad. Nominally he took the field as a prop but basically he was an all-purpose running, passing, try-scoring machine.