The BIG interview Jonah Lomu Sunday 23 May 2004

In the summer of 1995 Jonah Lomu burst onto the international rugby scene, and it was an arrival that few who were there will ever forget.

He was built like a second row, ran like a wing and caused absolute mayhem in the opposition's ranks.

Within 20 minutes of New Zealand's World Cup semi-final against England the match was virtually over, the opposition reduced to rubble by the bulldozing Lomu.

Lomu scored four tries that day, running around the English wingers, through the pack and over the full-back, Mike Catt.

"I was given a letter before the match, supposedly from England winger Tony Underwood, where he said he would run around me," Lomu told Grandstand.

"When I caught him out there I took him across the sideline, got up and said to him 'If you've got more mate you better bring it."

But neither Underwood - or England - had anything else to give.

"The first try I scored I was at the right place at the right time. Mike Catt was at the right place at the wrong time," he said.

"He actually made sure I didn't fall over - if he hadn't been there I would probably have fallen on my face."

Lomu bulldozes his way through England fullback Mike Catt

For Will Carling, England's skipper on that fateful day, the match took on nightmare proportions.

"I had never prepared myself to be 15 minutes into a game and know that it's basically over," he said. "The game was over.

"Jonah was rugby's first superstar, and as a rugby player Jonny Wilkinson has probably become the second. But Jonah was just brilliant."

That world cup ended in defeat for the All Blacks, losing in the final to the hosts South Africa, and witnessing the birth of the 'Rainbow Nation'.

Lomu continued to ravage Super 12 and international defences for the next eight years, playing 63 Tests for the All Blacks, scoring 37 tries.

A long-term goal is the 2007 World Cup but I've got a long way to go before that Jonah Lomu

But as the years progressed Lomu looked less and less like the player who cut through defences with ease, powering away from hapless wingers and crunching into props.

A kidney disease that was identified as early as 1994 always left the 6ft 5" winger at a disadvantage - and he revealed that he was never 100% fit.

"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," he said.

"A normal male has a blood count of around 140, I've never been 100. That gives you an idea of how serious this was.

"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.

"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.

BBC Sport Academy Jonah's burning ambition

"Me in a wheelchair? It was scary."

Dialysis and a kidney transplant followed for Lomu, leaving him first on a hospital bed and then making his first steps back to fitness.

Should all go well, his plan is not simply to live a normal life. His aim is to get back onto the field, and perhaps, one day, pull on that famous black jersey again.

"I'm definitely going to have a crack at playing rugby again," he said. "The level doesn't really matter.

"After that the world is my oyster. A long-term goal is the 2007 World Cup but I've got a long way to go before that.