Not too much was known about Jonah Lomu outside of his native New Zealand when he arrived in South Africa for the 1995 Rugby World Cup. After all, the winger had made just two appearances for the Kiwis prior to the tournament, which meant that his inclusion in the squad was something of a surprise.
However, by the time that the competition had concluded, the whole rugby world was aware of the 20-year-old.
He ran in two tries during New Zealand's opening match against Ireland and then followed that up with another in the 48-30 victory over Scotland in the quarter-finals.
© PA Photos
While that was enough to grab the attention of pundits and supporters alike, what he produced in the semi-finals against England exactly 18 years ago today had the crowd in Cape Town on their feet.
The All Blacks immediately switched the ball to Lomu's wing from the start and having collected it on the bounce, the powerhouse burst beyond three of his opponents, including Mike Catt, before touching down in just 70 seconds.
© PA Photos
England failed to recover from the early setback and smelling blood, Lomu swooped to add three further tries as his nation advanced through to the final courtesy of a 45-29 win.
There was to be no fairytale ending for Lomu and New Zealand though when six days later they lost out in the final to hosts South Africa 15-12 after extra time.
His displays during that World Cup and beyond were even more extraordinary when he revealed during a 2003 interview that he was already suffering with nephrotic syndrome - a serious and chronic kidney illness which often left Lomu bedridden in the days leading up to a match.
Liam Apicella
