JONAH LOMU will go down in history as one of the greatest ever rugby union stars to walk the planet.
A destructive ball-carrier that could skittle defenders left, right and centre, Lomu made his name in the 15-man code with the All Blacks with whom he earned 73 caps.
But, he almost made an incredible move to rugby league towards the back end of his career.
Lomu, who sadly passed away in 2015, was off contract after two seasons with the Cardiff Blues, and was approached by Scott Sattler and the Gold Coast Titans ahead of a potential move.
Sattler was the man who took Lomu to the Titans’ club, according to SEN, and was also part of the contract discussions.
“I went to pick him up from the Brisbane Airport and I’ve never seen so many media (members), there was media from Asian countries and England… there was media on the back of motorbikes trying to get footage of him,” Sattler said on SEN 1170 Sportsday.
“His second wife, she was his manager, and she was the toughest negotiator ever dealt with.
“He was pretty much finished and he was having problems with his kidneys.
“The option to sign him was going to cost the club more than any player in the history of the game, (if you) take Super League out of it.
“I remember her in the meeting saying you’re not signing Jonah Lomu the player, you’re signing the name, you’re signing the profile.”
A whopping $700,000 initial fee was the cost before a one-year $100,000 contract was added on top of that, making the deal impossible.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t come to fruition,” he added.
“I drove him back to the airport that night and he flew back to New Zealand.
“Tremendous guy, he was like a big kid, a big child. Tremendous guy he was, God rest his soul.”
Lomu unfortunately passed away aged 40 in November 2015.
