Jonah plays it cool on Euro comeback

Reuters

COMEBACK KING: All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu made his latest rugby comeback for third division Marseille-Vitrolles in the south of France.

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Why, Jonah? After 67 All Black tests and 37 international tries, when you've nothing left to prove, why would you bother playing again: is it because The Man told you to?

When we sit down to explore Jonah Lomu's latest career twist, a three-year contract with French third division side Marseilles-Vitrolles, the big man demurs.

"A lot of people wouldn't understand," he says. "You play rugby because you love it, and you're passionate about doing it. That's my No1 reason. I have a lot of things I want ... not to achieve, it's more to give back to the sport. While I can still play, why not do it? A lot of people would just give up, but I feel there's something more that I can do."

The cynics say Lomu is just keeping sponsors, and his bankers, happy by staying in the limelight. But he even has an answer for them.

"I re-signed with adidas [as a global ambassador] for 10 years before I even signed this contract," he retorts. "The long-term deals I have include no playing element. Playing has got nothing to do with adidas, nothing do with my other sponsors. It's me. I just want to play. If you love the game, why not play it? I feel like I can still play."

I ask him what his heart tells him he can do on the rugby field now? His face lights up: "It tells me I can do whatever I like," he declares.

"There's no limits. You're only limited by your mind. You've got to have an imagination, got to enjoy it and got to believe in yourself. The day I have doubt in my mind is when I'll call it quits.

"I wasn't planning on playing again till I started doing the body-building. But everything just felt right, and fell into place. I got myself into the best shape I've been in for a very long time."

And then came the key piece in the puzzle. He was in Paris meeting friends and the president of Marseille-Vitrolles happened to be there. He told Lomu of his bold project to take this small club into the top echelon of the game, to take rugby to a football-mad city, of the strong financial backing they had, of the experienced coach they'd secured. Before he knew it, Lomu found himself shaking hands, agreeing to a three-year deal. A month later, he was on a plane heading for a new life.

The worry is that he's living some bizarre dream. To be the man he once was. But he says that couldn't be further from the truth.

"The one thing I always say is `don't try to live in the past'. I say that to myself every day. I live for now, always have. I don't try to emulate myself from 1995, I just do the job I know I can do. Like anybody it's about knowing your limitations and sticking to it."

Isn't he putting himself at risk by playing again after his kidney transplant? Not so, he says. He had five medicals before joining Marseille. Passed them all. He has had the operation to remove the fistula from his arm. Easy. "Now there is no difference between me and another player in terms of getting hurt," he declares.

Yes, his optimism knows no bounds. He believes his time out of rugby has allowed his body to heal and his body-building has rejuvenated him physically. He made a shaky first step back last week, when he played at centre in a 63-18 victory.

And for those who worry about these things, Lomu is not some poor soul fixated on rugby. "I couldn't be any happier," says Lomu of family life with his partner, Nadene Quirk, nine-month-old son Brayley and the family dogs. Plus there's a string of outside interests that consume his time. "I'm busier now than I've ever been," he says. Last year he made 53 business trips around Europe. It simply made sense for him to base himself in this part of the world.

And rugby is just one part of Jonah Inc, a voracious beast that has driven Lomu to learn French, Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese and Russian. Being multi-lingual is a business decision.

"It's hard but it's something I have to learn and at the same time show respect to the companies and people I'm dealing with."

It seems he's particularly big in Moscow.

"Russian is the hardest. Mandarin's not so bad because I understand a bit of Cantonese so it's not too far off, but Russian, I just don't have a clue."

Yes, there's something different about the big fellow who stopped in on his old mates in the All Blacks a couple of times last week.

Even beyond his infectious enthusiasm and measured maturity.

Not once has he spoken about pipedreams of returning to the All Blacks. About being the best in the world once more.

It really does seem that Lomu has come of age. Right now he's content being a 34-year-old former star trying to do something special with a little club that has big ambitions. Nothing more. And certainly nothing less.

- with NZPA

- © Fairfax NZ News