Matt Smith gives five reasons why we loved Jonah Tali Lomu.
Star of sevens
The story of Jonah starring at the Condor Sevens when at high school and heading off to Hong Kong in 1994 with the New Zealand sevens team is well known.
But it is worth reflecting on the impact he made on those tournaments.
He was excellent in 1994, but it was the 1995 tournament when the world sat up and said ''What on earth was that?''.
A clip from a game against Malaysia - of all nations - gives viewers an insight into the gargantuan task facing any defence.
A Malaysian player - slightly more than half Lomu's size, if that - bravely tries to wrap his arms around Lomu's tree-trunk legs.
Like many before, and many more after, he fails.
Crushed garlic
For a team that gave Jonah Lomu a humbling introduction to test rugby back in 1994, France's outside backs were not exactly courageous when it came to tackling the big man.
Highlights reels of Lomu's test tries often featured royal blue jerseys scattering like nine-pins - sometimes courtesy of a big Lomu swat, and other times courtesy of their own reluctance.
There was no better example than Lomu's one-man wrecking-machine romp against the French in the first half of the 1999 Rugby World Cup semifinal.
We won't mention the second half.
Eviscerating the English
Nothing got Jonah Lomu more fired up than Rugby World Cups - and playing the English in particular.
It has been well documented he made mincemeat of Tony Underwood and Mike Catt during his four tries against England in Cape Town in 1995, but he was ready to go again in 1999 after three years of frustration with injuries and illness.
His 60m try against England in pool play in 1999 displayed all the best attributes of Lomu's game - pace, balance, power and sheer determination for the try line. And a rogue knee from Lawrence Dallaglio for good measure.
'He's been stopped'
Anyone who owned a Playstation 1 (or someone who had a friend with a Playstation 1) knows one thing about Jonah Lomu - he put his name to one of the greatest sports games to ever slot into a gaming console.
Jonah Lomu Rugby, despite being nearly 20 years old now, is widely regarded by students, shut-ins and sports tragics as the best rugby version of a video game.
It possessed simple gameplay, actual names of stars, Bill McLaren in the commentary box and - if you achieved world-champion status - you could eventually unlock a team full of Jonah Lomus who could fend off at will.
Now there's a scary prospect.
Turned provider
Lomu's 37 test tries are one thing.
But if rugby kept statistics on assists, Lomu's name would appear twice as many times in the record books.
Otago flanker Josh Kronfeld was basically a barnacle on Lomu's shoulder in the 1995 Rugby World Cup, finishing off Lomu's surging runs against the Irish and Welsh.
His late try against Australia to win the ''greatest game ever played'' at Sydney in 2000 will go down in folklore, but that would be ignoring his 50m run in the fourth minute, slipping past Chris Latham, to set up Pita Alatini for the All Blacks' second try.
