It was a tragic sight. Jonah Lomu, once the man who struck fear into rugby defenders, shuffling to the stage with the aid of his wife.
Six months after that appearance at the Halberg Awards in Christchurch, the transformation is breathtaking.
The chiselled physique is back, and so is the glint in the eye. The voice is the same, and carries the determination to dominate the game once again.
Speaking for the first time since his life-saving kidney transplant six weeks ago, Lomu has no illusions about the challenge ahead.
”I am about 80% to 85% right at the moment,” he said. ”I am really focused about what I want to do. My energy levels are slowly coming back and I feel I’m on track. I am just very lucky, very fortunate, that a great friend in [kidney donor] Grant [Kereama] has given me this gift of life.
”I can’t ever repay Grant for what he has done for me. I am one of the lucky ones. I only had to wait a couple of years; there are many others who have had to wait so much longer.”
Lomu said he wants his last rugby act to be on a greater stage than the NPC warm-up between Wellington and Taranaki at Porirua Park in August last year. He played just 40 minutes.
”I played poorly and I don’t want to go out that way,” he said.
His ultimate goal, he said, is reclaiming a black jersey.
”That is the dream, turning out for the All Blacks in the next World Cup. I will only be 32, so it is not beyond the realms of possibility.
”I have unfinished business with the All Blacks. I have been to two World Cups and we came so close. I want to bring that Cup home to the people of New Zealand.
”I still have a lot to offer to New Zealand rugby. There is no substituting for experience. When I come back you’ll see a better, much stronger Jonah.”
Lomu is not ruling out next year’s Super 12 for his comeback, but said he is just biding his time, waiting until his body is ready.
He is adamant that there are no health risks in returning to top-level rugby. If there were, he said, he would not even contemplate playing again.
His new kidney is located so far back behind the ribcage that it is not even visible on a scan.
”That’s why it was done this way, to give me a chance. I know how fortunate I am. I am not going to risk my health, my life, to play rugby,” he said. ”It is my decision. Because of the placement, I have been told there is no chance of damaging my kidney playing rugby again.”
Wellington radio personality Kereama, he said, is more than happy with his decision to chase his dream. They are ”great friends” who support each other.
”Grant wants me to follow my dreams.”
When Kereama rang and offered his kidney, ”I was freaking out. I asked him if he was sure. He was.
”We talked about it and I thought about it some more. There were a couple of other compatible donors as well, but I felt most comfortable going with Grant.”
Lomu said Kereama never profited from the deal, despite some speculation to the contrary.
For nearly a decade, 29-year-old Lomu has suffered from a rare and debilitating kidney disorder, nephritic syndrome. Until his transplant it meant eight-hour dialysis treatments daily.
”It was not comfortable and so debilitating in terms of what I could do. It just became my life. But I had no other choice. It was dialysis or death,” Lomu said.
Earlier this year his weight ballooned to more than 130kg and he could barely walk.
Since the transplant Lomu has lost 13kg and is now close to the weight he was when he terrorised rugby defences.
”With a lot of new kidneys they take a while to kick in, but this one is like a rocket. It worked as soon as it was put in there.”
Lomu is not completely out of the woods, but the signs look promising. He has suffered no side effects from the 20 or so anti-rejection pills he takes daily, and says doctors are confident he will return to full health.
A typical day is taken up with blood tests, leisurely walks, the occasional 25-minute jog and at least two gruelling gym sessions, where his focus is strength and cardio work.
His stamina, he says, is ”growing day by day” and he is slowly regaining his speed.
”I am really confident about the future. I have always believed that if the mind is willing, the body will follow. Nothing is impossible in this life if you want it bad enough.” — Sapa-NZPA