Jonah Lomu Quotations

Until 1998, I worked in marketing at ASB bank. I loved it.

I have crooked toes from wearing boots that didn't fit me because that's all I could afford as a kid.

I always say to people that you have never seen the best of me, and that's what I mean - I've never been fully fit.

It annoys me when people who don't know what they're talking about boo the referee.

I was diagnosed with the illness right before the 1995 World Cup.

I went to a boarding school with a strong Maori tradition, where we were taught all about the haka.

Looking back, my whole life seems so surreal. I didn't just turn up on the doorstep playing rugby; I had to go through a whole lot of things to get there.

I was this guy who'd been racing around down there, on that field in 1999, running straight over people, scoring tries, winning games, having fun. And I ended up so sick I couldn't even run past a little baby.

I was only operating at about 80% of my capacity.

Where do I start? My former manager, Phil Kingsley-Jones, is Welsh, and I've spent a lot of time in the Principality, and I am looking for a challenge and a platform which will allow me a standard of rugby which will allow me to prove to my critics that I am not some washed-up has-been,

Each haka has its own interpretation, but you have to make sure you are in unison with your team-mates; the haka should be a proper war cry.

The shoulder injury I incurred during the match in June took me out of the NPC season in New Zealand,

For me, I want to get into training and make the squad,

It will be much more of a goldfish bowl when I go back to New Zealand.

I am very excited to be here in Wales and look forward to putting on the Cardiff Blues shirt.

I don't think they'll slip up and this side is going to get better,

It was like falling off a building and suddenly, bang, you hit the bottom. The first time it happened was on an ordinary day at home. I was taking down some curtains. I took one step, turned around, took another step and then I fell and hit my head hard on the rowing machine.

It's a really exciting time to be involved in Welsh rugby.

I was on dialysis for 18 months before the transplant, so it was important I tried to look ahead to days like my comeback this Saturday. You need those big goals to drive you on.

I thought about dying whenever I got bad news about other people.

Towards the end of 2003 it was hard to get through training - and the darkest point was when a doctor told me there was a possibility I could end up in a wheelchair

I have a stab wound on my left hip and one on my thigh and a slash mark across my right calf. I have a bottle stab wound on my left calf.

How do I take a step? How do I lift my foot off the ground, move it through the air a little bit and then bring it down? I had to teach myself to walk again.

When I was playing I felt tired all the time. My recovery period was a lot longer than the other players. They'd be ok after an hour - I'd have to stay in bed till the next session.

It was in 2003 that I realised there was no choice but to have dialysis treatment - by the time of the World Cup that year, I could barely walk. A year later, I finally had a kidney transplant.

It's been a long road back to health and fitness for me. I am just glad to have been given the opportunity to do what I love most.

The biggest thing for me is just to get out on that field. Just to do that will be incredible.

For me to get through the toughest periods in my life, I had to look within to find the energy to do it. I dont give up. Never have. Never will.

Looking back, my whole life seems so surreal. I didnt just turn up on the doorstep playing rugby; I had to go through a whole lot of things to get there.