A public memorial for New Zealand rugby great Jonah Lomu, who died earlier this month at 40, has been held at Auckland’s Eden Park stadium.
The former All Black was capped 63 times by his country and considered one of rugby’s first global superstars.
On Saturday New Zealand’s Pacific Islander community gathered to remember Lomu, who was of Tongan descent.
He was diagnosed with a rare kidney condition in 1995, but the exact cause of death has not been established.
Doctors believe he died as a result of a blood clot that developed on the long flight back from the UK where he had recently been watching the Rugby World Cup with his wife and two young boys, says the BBC’s Jon Donnison in Auckland.
The memorial opened with a traditional Maori haka, and powhiri welcome ritual. Jonah Lomu’s coffin was then carried into the stadium by pallbearers, including several former All Blacks.
Lomu’s wife Nadene followed, wearing a woven skirt – a traditional Tongan symbol of respect and mourning – accompanied by her two sons.
In an especially moving moment, pupils of Lomu’s former school in South Auckland, Favona Primary, performed their own tribute song, calling the rugby giant “Number 11, our friend in heaven”.
