He was a good rugby player, but very overrated. Jonah Lomu is the most famous rugby player in history, but there were better players than him in his position.
Lomu made many tries in RWC 95 and 99. Then people who don't look rugby and just look RWCs believe that he was the best. But for example: Christian Cullen has more tries in the Tri Nations than Lomu. Doug Howlett also has more tries than Lomu on ABs. Then Lomu is just that, the greatest idol of the people who don't follow rugby.
The true rugby supporters don't consider Lomu as the best rugby player in history, because they look rugby 365 days a year, they follow the Super Rugby, Tri Nations and other tournaments that Lomu was overtaken by several players. People who only follow the RWC think that Lomu is the God of rugby. I disagree.
I prefer Christian Cullen, Doug Howlett, Bryan Habana and others wingers. I don't even consider him as the best wing in rugby history.
Cheers
You're an idiot. I saw the whole of Lomu's career and all of the other players you mentioned. I watched almost all of his provincial and Super rugby games, which you obviously didn't, cause if you think he only ever played good at world cups then you truly are stupid. He was an absolute machine for Counties and the Blues. With Jonah and Joeli Vidiri on the wings, Counties went from second division to the 1st div final in a couple of years.
Doug Howlett, while a fine player, is nowhere near Lomu's level.. that you actually think Howlett was ever better than Lomu is madness and really does show you just haven't watched enough of Lomu. Christian Cullen was a fullback most of his career so that isn't a good comparison really. They were both freakish, but in different ways. And before you tell me I haven't seen anything other than world cups, I was a young kid on the terraces at the Palmerston North showgrounds watching Cullen play for Manawatu in 1994 and 1995 before anyone had heard of him.
Number of tries doesn't really denote anything. If it did then Caleb Ralph would be one of the great Super Rugby players. He wasn't.
How many skills had Lomu? In addition to run fast and be strong? He could give a 20-meter pass easily like Dan Carter? He could easily kick the ball like Bryan Habana? How good was offloader? Like Jean De Villiers or Conrad Smith? He could give a reverse-pass like Will Genia or Sonny Bill Williams? He could a side-step like Quade Cooper?
For me Lomu was like Alesana Tuilagi but more faster. A giant of 125 kg who could broken any defense but I saw better players than him.
Also 20 years ago the players were smaller. Currently the backs are bigger. Lomu played against Mike Catt in 1995, today would face Manu Tuilagi and Billy Vunipola who are as strong like the best Lomu.
Cheers
I appreciate that athletes are bigger now, but still nobody has the physical traits Lomu had. Savea is one of the world's best wingers in the modern game, and he is pretty much just a poor man's Lomu; smaller, slower. So how does that match up with your point?
Bryan Habana can't kick for sh*t either so that is a weird point to bring up. Lomu had far better footwork and a better offload than Habana.
You're making pointless comparisons with irrelevant players. The others above covered why these points are redundant.
The fact that he was a combination of those skills and footwork and the size and pace that we frankly haven't seen since mean he was a once in a lifetime player, and indeed one of the best wingers ever. And that he did it all while suffering a debilitating illness makes it even more remarkable. If he never got sick I only wonder just how much better he could have been.