TNT Sports
Lomu: I want no regrets
By
Published 08/12/2005 at 18:16 GMT
Legendary New Zealand winger Jonah Lomu talks to Eurosport about his long awaited comeback to the rugby scene this weekend playing for Cardiff in the Heineken Cup clash against Italian outfit Calvisano. It will be his first official match since undergoing
Eurosport
Image credit: TNT Sports
"The task is going to be difficult. There is some class players in this Calvisano team. A lot of them play for Italy," Lomu told Eurosport 2 at his new home in Cardiff.
"I appreciate what I can do now. Because I had it taken away from me, I had the ability to walk on my own taken away from me, I had the ability to run taken away from me," said the legendary All Blacks winger who will be making his big return from a kidney transplant.
"Now I have all those abilities back. To be able to walk on my own, run on my own power, change direction on a rugby field when I feel like it and hold my feet when people are trying to tackle me in training," said a determined Lomu.
INSPIRED BY ALI
Lomu says he used a star of yesteryear as the inspiration for his own return:
"My greatest idol of all time is Mohhamed Ali. Everybody said to him that he would never be able to beat George Foreman and he proved them wrong. For me this (making a comeback) is my George Foreman."
Going untested into a European Cup match, albeit against a smaller team, is a gamble, but one that Lomu is more than willing to take.
"I don't want to sit back in a few years time once I have retired or if I didn't even have a go at it and say I had a chance so 'why didn't I do it' I don't want any if and buts.
"Basically I will do what I can do and if it is not good enough then it is not good enough but at least I will know that I'm happy with myself and I have done my best," he concluded.
Related Topics
Advertisement
Advertisement