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'Ready to go' Lomu still positive after muted return to actionPosted: Sunday August 10, 2003 8:47 AMWELLINGTON (Reuters) -- Former All Black winger Jonah Lomu said Sunday he was still focused on his bid for selection for this year's World Cup despite his low-key return to action for Wellington on Saturday. Lomu played 40 minutes against Taranaki in a National Provincial Championship warmup match but touched the ball only three times and made just one tackle as his side lost 27-17. The big winger, who has been sidelined with a recurrence of the kidney complaint, nephrotic syndrome, which requires three days of dialysis a week, still hopes to play in the World Cup which begins on October 10. "The World Cup's there. That's everybody's ultimate goal. I know I've got a fair bit to work on," Lomu was quoted as saying by the New Zealand Press Association. "But NPC starts next week and that's really when everybody wants to be firing on all cylinders. I'm ready to go." Lomu was the outstanding player at the 1995 World Cup in South Africa where the All Blacks lost in the final to the host nation. However, injuries, loss of form and illness have seen him lose his place in the squad in recent seasons. "We will have a look at whether Jonah is an option against Southland and whether we feel he is up to it," said Wellington coach John Plumtree. "It was not a bad start and hopefully he will go from strength to strength. Lomu added: "I don't want to sit around in a few years' time and say I had a chance to have a crack at it and I didn't. "I hadn't touched a ball for a couple of months and no matter how much training you do outside of playing it doesn't get you match fit, so I was a bit nervous. "What a lot of people don't realize is that for years and years I have been playing with the problem and it's come to a head. "Dialysis is making me feel better than I was, when I was playing."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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