Giant winger Jonah Lomu is fed up and frustrated at the lack of ball he receives and tired of being double teamed by the opposition whenever it does come his way.

The All Blacks flyer feels he is literally waiting in the wings, a bit player in a drama that is going on around him, and without him.

"It's a bit frustrating to be honest and I don't really know what's going on," he said after a two-hour team run with the Hurricanes on Tuesday as they prepare for their Super 12 match against the Reds in Palmerston North on Saturday.

"Things are going okay in certain areas, but I'm just not getting any ball from set phase. We have rarely seen the ball going out wide and I don't know why that is, it's just happening. But it is a bit annoying because I wouldn't mind getting some ball."

Lomu's complaints are telling. They are the words of a man who can be a match-winner with his pace and power, a player who is feared around the world for his ability to score tries.

He has 120 tries from 168 first-class games, and 25 of those are from 45 appearances in the Super 12. His ability to turn a game is without question, yet the 26-year-old is out of sorts, and woefully out of form.

As the Hurricanes prepare for their sixth Super 12 game of the season, it is extraordinary that Lomu has yet to score a try. He has been hampered by an attacking strategy that seems to require every forward to touch the ball before any of the backs get a chance to run with it.

The opposition are also awake to the threat Lomu poses. "I try to get into the game but the opposition are always trying to cut me off," he said.

"They come up and stop the passes and when I do get the ball the centre and wing are on top of me. It means there are holes for someone else, and that's good, but once in a while I'd like to get the ball."

The Hurricanes will need Lomu to be at his best on Saturday as the Reds have a backline every bit as talented as that of the Hurricanes.

Centre Daniel Herbert is one of the best in the world and Chris Latham can be a superb fullback, while on the wings they have the contrasting package of Ben Tune and Wendell Sailor.

Lomu will mark Tune, while Shannon Paku's defence could see him play ahead of Daryl Lilley on the right wing, marking Sailor, the former Brisbane Broncos league star. "Wendell is a great player, he is very big and very fast and he'll be great for the game," Lomu said.