Only five years ago, Jonah Lomu's rugby career looked in jeopardy. Now the big winger is preparing for his 50th Test with more determination than ever.

Jonah Lomu's 50th Test for the All Blacks on Saturday will have special significance. As he battled a debilitating kidney illness in 1996-97, he wondered about his rugby future. "I didn't think then I'd get many more than 10 Tests," Lomu said in Dunedin on Monday.

"To get to 50 will be great, but it ain't going to mean much if we don't win at the weekend. It's all about winning. When you're playing for your country you don't go out there to come second. Fifty doesn't mean as much as winning in an All Black jersey."

The 26-year-old made his first impact in Dunedin in 1993 in a New Zealand Schools side captained by current All Blacks skipper Anton Oliver, which beat England 53-5. Lomu was a No 8 in those days and spectators watched in awe as he thundered down the touchlines, leaving England tacklers in his wake.

"I remember that game well," he said. "I was just a schoolboy who wanted to play. That's all I've ever wanted to do - enjoy it and have fun. The next year I played five games on the wing and became an All Black. You can never tell how things will work out."

Lomu relishes Carisbrook as a Test venue. "It's awesome when you're playing for the All Blacks," he said. "The crowd gets very vocal, very supportive. You don't want to be in the opposition."

Lomu has had few chances for the All Blacks this year and he is itching to get the ball in his hand and run. "It is pretty frustrating when you don't get the ball, but you have to go looking for work as well," he said. "I guess the opposition try to shut you out. We've got to work to our strengths, try to get the workrate up, string phases together and hopefully I'll be in the action."

Lomu is likely to mark Andrew Walker on Saturday, a player he has not opposed previously. He said he had no problems motivating himself, despite having achieved many of the goals he had set. "To me it's the satisfaction of playing well for your country and still having that hunger and enjoyment for the game. I still have that and long may it carry on," he said.

Lomu's contract with the New Zealand Rugby Football Union ends in November but he is not spending time contemplating his future. "I play the game and leave the other stuff to my manager Phil Kingsley-Jones," he said. "We've had a few years of practice together and we've got it down to a tee now.

"I leave it to him until he's got something finalised, then he'll give me a ring and we'll talk about it. But he knows that once Test week comes around, nothing disturbs me until the game's over." - Sapa