Lomu hungry for sevens glory
January 25, 2001

Jonah Lomu will once again be the star of the show this weekend when his New Zealand side attempt to secure the World Cup Sevens title for the first time.

Lomu, fully recovered from the broken cheekbone he suffered in the first Test against France last November, was always determined to play in Mar del Plata after missing out four years ago.

"It was my decision to come here," said Lomu, the star attraction of the 24-team event which begins on Friday. "I remember watching England win the first one in 1993 and Fiji winning in 1997.

"I missed out four years ago because of my kidney illness. I was commentating in Hong Kong, and there were a lot of emotions when those games were on."

"This is where it all starts for most New Zealanders. I was catapulted into the All Blacks squad from the sevens, so it means a lot to me.

"I've never won a World Cup and I'm pretty nervous about the weekend - but I'm also looking forward to it. I have been training for this for the past one-and-a-half months."

New Zealand, whose only major tournament triumph since the 1987 World Cup is the Commonwealth Games sevens title in Malaysia in 1998, have been seeded to meet title-holders Fiji in the final late on Sunday night.

The Kiwis beat Fiji to win gold in Kuala Lumpur and have also won the past two events in the World Cup sevens series.

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