Absolutely devastated. He was probably rugby's first global superstar after what he did in the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and maybe the most internationally famous All Black. He came at just the right time to be the face of rugby going from an amateur sport poorly followed beyond its heartlands to a professional global sport.
And holy shit his first try from the 1995 England semi-final may well be the greatest try ever. Just watch this thing:
The commentator's call is amazing, left gasping after Lomu literally runs straight over the top of Mike Catt (the poor guy is now solely remembered as Lomu's victim). At his peak - which happened to coincide with the 1995 and 1999 World Cups - Lomu was the most physically imposing player in all rugby, and certainly a contender for that title in all sport. Nobody had seen anything like him beforehand, a winger so big yet so so fast. He had that perfect combination of brute strength, acceleration, and agility. When he was on form, he simply ran straight at the defence because he knew he had the power to knock them out of the way. If they tried to hold on, he'd just drag them along until they fell off him.
It's such a tragedy he was then struck down by poor health and had his career cut short. You struggle to even believe a man who showed such awesome, dominant physicality on the rugby field could have even the slightest ailment, let alone kidney problems so serious to require a transplant. I'm assuming - though it's not yet confirmed - that his death will probably have something to do with his kidney condition, especially since his body rejected the transplanted kidney a few years ago.
I'm so glad he at least went out with a trip to our greatest sporting triumph. This is really getting to me. His performance of 1995 set my eight-year-old world on fucking fire. I will never ever forget it.