Rugby – Disappearance – “Jonah Lomu Paquito sang with us” – The Équipe.fr

guy accoceberry (48, 19 caps from 1994 to 1997) : “With Jonah and” Cali “(Christian Califano ), there is a point that we are still closer. It was celebrated every three our first two selections in 1994, during the same two tests of the summer tour of New Zealand. Sportingly, Jonah Lomu discovered the forward position at this level and it was also done on the test catch cold “end of the world.” But a year later, at the World Cup in South Africa, we saw her sporting transformation, how he built the play of Blacks, how and where it should intervene. On a personal level, I met him twice thereafter. A first time during a debate on organ donation to the Pellegrin Hospital in Bordeaux, where he had intervened via a laboratory. It had briefly traded. Then, in 2007 during the World Cup in Bordeaux, he came with his wife, guided by Willie Jefferson (former US player Bègles and Racing CF).

It was very busy in Paris, and there there were four, five days relaxing couple. There was an old tournament held in Bègles Musard, something not publicized at all where there were three peeled … And Jonah landed with Willie. In the evening, he was invited to dine with us in a Castle. With Olivier Brouzet, we were at the table Jonah and his wife. What simplicity! At the end of the evening, he had sung the “Paquito Chocolatero” with us, sitting in a line on the ground. The next day we went to Château Petrus, Jonah, Olivier and me. He signed me a jersey with the words: “you beat me twice” . I still have it … This was the first real star of rugby. But it is never taken for a star. “

Philippe Bernat-Salles (45, 41 selections from 1992 to 2001) :” Sure, there was the player who was very impressive .. But more than the sporting aspect, it’s the human side that will take me stronger for Jonah. It is a scene that sums up all that was for me: After the semi-final World Cup, where we beat the All Blacks at Twickenham (43-31), with “Domi” (Christophe Dominici) we went to their locker room to exchange our jerseys. There they felt great distress, and Jonah, THE world star, was called “King Kong”, “Golgoth” stood up and handed me his shirt, since I had played in front of him. At that instant, I felt all the simplicity, humility, kindness and respect, too, it gave off. “