Jonah Lomu’s doctor opens up on his final years and private struggles – and how the rugby legend insisted on taking the field despite being ‘incredibly sick’
- John ‘Doc’ Mayhew has revealed details about Jonah Lomu’s battle with illness
- He said All Blacks coach John Hart didn’t know how serious Lomu’s illness was
- Dr Mayhew told him not to take the field in a match in 1995 while battling disease
- Lomu was the youngest player to debut for the All Blacks at 19 and died in 2015
Former All Black’s doctor John ‘Doc’ Mayhew has opened up on Jonah Lomu’s tragic final years battling a kidney disorder.
The international rugby union community was rocked by Lomu’s death in 2015, aged 40, when he went into cardiac arrest as a result of kidney disease complications.
Dr Mayhew spoke on Newstalk ZB radio and said that many in the All Blacks staff didn’t know how serious Lomu’s illness was, including coach John Hart.
John ‘Doc’ Mayhew leaves the field with New Zealand Warriors star Manu Vatuvei in August 2015
Jonah Lomu in action for the All Blacks during the 1995 World Cup semi final against England
‘I think [Hart] is still a bit annoyed that I didn’t tell him for a couple of years but that was the way it happened,’ Dr Mayhew said.
Details about Lomu’s illness were scarce, leaving many unaware of how much he was struggling with his health, culminating in some trying performances in the latter part of his career.
Dr Mayfew recalled one match Lomu played for the Barbarians in 1995 where he told Lomu not to take the field.
‘I said to him “Jonah don’t play,” and he said “no I’ve got to, there’s people here to come and watch me play” because that was so soon after the 1995 World Cup, and he was right, he wasn’t being arrogant,’ Dr Mayhew said.
‘He didn’t want to let people down so he played and played a pretty average game and the English press got into him. He felt like saying, “if they only knew.”‘
Lomu had his last international appearance in 2002 before having a kidney transplant in 2004 and retiring in 2007.
He was the youngest player to debut for the All Blacks at 19-years-old in 1994, and finished his career with 63 test caps for New Zealand, being inducted into the Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007.
He was surrounded by family when he died in 2015.
Lomu in Queenstown in 1999. He had a kidney transplant in 2004 and retired from profesisonal rugby in 2007, before he died suddenly from cardiac arrest in 2015