Lomu ready to risk all in comeback

JONAH LOMU is prepared to risk everything, including his future health, to make a comeback at the Rugby World Cup from a kidney condition that has almost crippled him.

The giant All Blacks winger, undergoing dialysis treatment three times a week in an Auckland hospital while he awaits a kidney transplant, said in an interview with New Zealand TV last night that he was determined to disprove predictions that he’ll never play rugby again.

“I’d put everything on the line to play in the World Cup,” Lomu said.

“I want to give it a go. I said I’ve started a dream and my dream is to play in a World Cup and win a World Cup. That would complete my life story.”

Lomu, 28, is reportedly the highest paid and highest profile rugby player in the world. But he’s been cautioned by medical advisers not to count on extending an international career that has spanned 63 Tests in eight years.

He suffered an end-stage renal collapse late last week after battling for most of his adult life against a rare kidney disorder known as nephrotic syndrome. The dialysis treatment can control his illness, cleansing his blood of impurities, but only a transplant can offer the hope of a return to a normal life.

Lomu has been told he can’t play while he’s having the dialysis treatment, and recipients of kidney transplants are also discouraged from playing contact sport because the organ can be easily damaged.

He said he was drawing strength from prayer and the support of fans “On the outside I look okay but on the inside your body is telling you something different,” said Lomu, who rolled up his right sleeve during the 30 minute interview to reveal severe bruising on his forearm from the treatment.

The consequences of the illness didn’t appear to daunt him.

“Do I get scared? No. Because I’ve lived with it this long and I’ve prepared my life around it for so long I’m used to it,” said Lomu, who was diagnosed in 1996.

“The worst aspect is I have something that controls my life. I can’t really do so much about it. I’ve beaten it before and it’s come back so this is just another round, the second round, and I can beat it again,” he said.

Lomu became defiant when asked if he was being realistic about returning to international sport.

“No one’s done it, no one’s tried it because no one’s had the guts to try,” he said. “There may be danger but there’s danger in everything.

You can walk around the corner and get hit by a bus. Speculation that he may easily find a rugby fan willing to make a “directed donation” of a kidney to shorten his wait for transplant surgery has concerned Lomu. New Zealanders typically wait up to three years for a donor organ to become available.

Lomu said it was against medical ethics to entice a person to offer an organ for donation and he was concerned publicity about his condition might encourage a misdirected offer.

“The thing that disturbs me about this is that I do need a transplant but I’m not going to do anything about that,” he said. “I’m like anyone else. I need to get on the transplant list ... I’m not asking for any favours.”

Medical experts have said Lomu would be most likely to find a compatible organ from within his own family.

Lomu, who has been estranged from his parents at times in the past, said he had not addressed the issue with his brother or other family members.

“If someone wants to offer a kidney, that has to be done of their own free will,” he said.

“It’s something for me to talk to my family about. It’s not only me that’s involved, ” he said.