Picture-perfect trip for Lomu

Photos: Barry and District News

Jonah Lomu's tattoo, above, and with artist Lee Clements, below.

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Jonah Lomu is wearing his heart on his "sleeve".

The giant rugby legend has had a series of spectacular tattoos on his massive right arm, marking his cultural journey and the imminent birth of his second son.

Lomu this week flew to the Welsh town of Barry – 15km from Cardiff – to spend 10 hours with local ink artist Lee Clements.

The work pays homage to his New Zealand and Tongan heritage. It also features Celtic designs in recognition of Lomu's time playing for Welsh club Cardiff, the side he made his comeback with after a kidney transplant in 2004.

"I have been thinking about getting one done for the last six or seven years," Lomu said.

"I wanted to involve parts of New Zealand, Tongan and Celtic tradition, which are the three main places where I have lived." Clements has been Lomu's tattooist of choice for the past three years.

He will complete more artwork on Lomu's body after the birth of his second son later this year.

Previously he has tattooed the name of Lomu's partner, Nadene Quirk, and their first son, Braylee, on Lomu's arms.

"My next boy's going to be born soon, so I'm going to ring Lee up and see if he will come over and do some more," Lomu said.

Quirk gave birth to Lomu's first son 17 months ago.

He had been given a "0.001% chance" of having a child due to anti-rejection drugs he was placed on following his kidney transplant.

In March, Lomu revealed Braylee already had the signs of being a mini-Jonah.

"He's very, very tall for his age, with big hands and big feet," he said.

"He looks like he's prepping to play rugby already with the dogs we have. He tries to pick them up and tackle them.

"They'll be asleep and Braylee walks across, grabs them by the tail and tries to drag them across the room. He's a rough and tumble kid."

Clement did was the "Power Within" tattoo on Lomu's back which featured prominently in an adidas ad campaign which he did as part of his multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal.

Clement said: "He flinched a bit when I did his back."

Speaking in Wales earlier this week, Lomu said he was loving his new life in France, where he has been playing for French third division club side Marseilles Vittrolles.

"I can't complain about living out there [Marseille] because it's 35 degrees every day and I spend about 75% of my time eating outside."

- © Fairfax NZ News