Dhyreille, the son of the legendary All Black superstar Jonah Lomu, has recently expressed his preference to play for France if he follows in his father's footsteps.
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Born in France during Jonah's short stint with Marseille, Dhyreille's eligibility to represent the French team would not pose any concerns.
During his time at school in New Zealand, Dhyreille earned the nickname "Frenchie," highlighting his connection to his birth country. As a young and aspiring athlete, he has already showcased his talent in several age-grade tournaments across New Zealand.
Jonah Lomu's own career took him to France and the Cardiff Blues in Europe, marking the latter stages of his illustrious journey. Tragically, Jonah passed away in November 2015, leaving behind a remarkable legacy.
Playing primarily as a winger, Jonah Lomu concluded his international career with an impressive tally of 63 caps and 37 tries. He is widely recognized as the first true global rugby superstar and his influence on the sport remains immense.
In addition to their passion for rugby, Jonah's two sons are also avid tennis players.
"To be the best tennis player in the world you should put in effort and always try hard,” Brayley said.
Only playing for three-and-a-half-years, the pair are reaching for the sky.
“My dream is to become a number one professional tennis player in the world,” Dhyreille added.
“Dad will always be the best and I thought to maybe give something else a try cause I’ll never be better than him,”
Jonah Lomu Facts:
- He weighed 120 kg and was 1.96 metres tall, but could run 100 metres in 10.8 seconds
- In 1996, McDonald’s New Zealand named a burger after Lomu
- He’s the only rugby player ever to feature on the front cover of TIME magazine
- According to the Telegraph, Leeds were ready to make a third bid to attract All Blacks giant Jonah Lomu to England in 2001
- He played 63 tests as an All Black, scoring 37 tries
- In 2001 he helped New Zealand win the Rugby World Cup Sevens.
Fans Have Shared Rugby Facts That Sound Fake But Are Actually True
Everyone loves rugby facts that not many are aware of and so back in April 2020, one chap got a serious discussion going by asking folks to share rugby facts that sound "extremely fake" but are in fact legitimate.
A whole host of mad facts about many different players and teams surfaced and so here are 20 of the very best.
RUGBY FACTS:
1. England have scored one try in FOUR World Cup finals
Unfortunately true, Jason Robinson's try in the 2003 Rugby World Cup final is the men in whites only score. Arguably Mark Cueto should have doubled that tally in 2007, but that is a discussion for another day.
2. Basketball was actually created by a rugby coach who wanted some form of indoor sporting activity to keep his players conditioned when it was off-season!
Knew we liked basketball for a reason.
3. Owen Farrell has never won the Premiership Player of the Month award
Yes, despite being England's premier fly-half for almost a decade, the Saracens man has never been crowned player of the month. Danny Cipriani (2), George Ford, Joe Simmonds and Freddie Burns have all won the award in recent seasons.
4. The All Blacks had no red cards between 1967 and 2017, when Sonny Bill Williams was sent off against the Lions.
That is just mental.
5. Wayne Shelford tore his scrotum in a match against France. He got stitched up and returned to the field.
That must have hurt.
6. Joe Marler has scored more tries for the Lions than Manu Tuilagi, Mike Tindall and Jonny May combined
Indeed, the prop who has failed to score for his country did touch down in one of the warm-up matches during the 2017 tour of New Zealand.
7. Ellis Genge could be Muhammad Ali’s great-grandson…
The intriguing links between Ali and the Leicester prop stem from Genge’s grandmother, according to The Mirror.
8. A hooker was the first ever World Player of the Year
Keith Wood remains the only front-rower to win the award 21 years later.
9. England's 2003 Rugby World Cup-winner Ben Cohen's Uncle, George, was the right-back for the England side that won the 1966 World Cup
Talented family all-around.
10. Jonah Lomu met Robin Williams in 1998 and the pair remained friends for life
We miss them both. The way they met is a great story.
11. Alun Wyn Jones lost on his 1st, 50th, 100th and 150th cap
The loss against Italy on his 150th must have stung the worst.
12. Twickenham stadium sells around 160,547 pints each match
Outrageous
13. In 2007 Bryan Habana, who has clocked 10.2s for the 100m, raced against a cheetah as part of a conservation campaign.
For once he finished as a runner-up.
14. Gloucester have been runners-up in the Premiership FIVE times without winning the darn thing
Hard life supporting the Cherry & Whites who on top of that have finished top of the table three times.
15. The first ever rugby balls were made by a Richard Lindon who fashioned it out of hand stitched leather casing and pigs’ bladders.
Gruesome.
16. Owen Farrell wasn't always named Owen Farrell
He was not at first registered as a Farrell, but took mum Colleen’s family name of O’Loughlin. The couple married in 1995, changing Owen’s surname to Farrell the following year.
17. England legend Martin Johnson actually played for New Zealand first.
However, what you might not know is that All Blacks legend Colin Meads invited the raw but promising teenager to New Zealand to play for the King Country province in 1989 and Johnson, who took up the offer, would go on to be capped by New Zealand U21s.
18. In 2012, following his Scotland debut, Stuart Hogg discovered he was a distant relative of football legend George Best.
Totally insane.
19. The notion of singing a national anthem before a sporting event originated at a rugby match
Makes sense.
20. Scotland have never beaten New Zealand
Wait, that is totally believable.
