Magnificent 7 @ The Sevens – Jonah Lomu

The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU) has named Jonah Lomu as the seventh and final member of ‘The Hong Kong Magnificent Seven’, the HKRFU’s assembly of the top seven players to have played at the Hong Kong Sevens over the past 40 years.

Lomu was inducted into ‘The Magnificent Seven’ last night at the 40 Years of Sevens Gala dinner in Hong Kong along with the announced co-winners of the HKRFU’s Hong Kong Hometown Legend campaign, Rowan Varty and Keith Robertson.

Quite possibly the most famous rugby player in history, Jonah Lomu made his debut appearance in Hong Kong in 1994, giving Hong Kong Sevens fans a privileged opportunity to witness a superstar in the making.

Lomu came to Hong Kong as an unheralded youngster but exited the Sevens on the cusp of stardom. Months later he would be selected as the then youngest-ever All Black at just 19 years and 45 days old, making his debut appearance against France. The following year he cemented his reputation as rugby’s most unstoppable force by scoring seven tries at the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa.

Lomu would return to the Hong Kong Sevens in 1995 and 1996 to anchor New Zealand to three successive tournament victories and secure himself an abiding place in Hong Kong’s sporting lore.

He also helped New Zealand win the gold medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and led his country to its first Rugby World Cup Sevens victory at the 2001 world championships in Argentina. He is the third Kiwi named in ‘The Hong Kong Magnificent Seven’.

The expert panel of sevens specialists convened by the HKRFU to adjudicate ‘The Hong Kong Magnificent Seven’ obviously did their homework. At yesterday’s pre-event press conference ahead of the 2015 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens (27-29 March), Sir Gordon Tietjens, in charge of the New Zealand Sevens team since 1994, was queried about the three best players he has ever coached.

Magnificent 7 @ The Sevens – Jonah Lomu

After little deliberation, Tietjens named Eric Rush, Christian Cullen and Lomu. All three have been named into the Magnificent Seven – making New Zealand the only nation with multiple recipients of this unique honour.

The complete Hong Kong Magnificent Seven are:

Zhang Zhiqiang China
Ben Gollings England
Christian Cullen New Zealand
Eric Rush New Zealand
David Campese Australia
Waisale Serevi Fiji
Jonah Lomu New Zealand

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