New Zealand
Huge crowd expected at service for Lomu
November 22, 2015
Cardiff and Harlequins players pay tribute to Jonah Lomu before their match © Getty Images
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More than 1000 people are expected to gather as the Tongan community and South Auckland bid farewell to rugby legend Jonah Lomu.

The community will hold a public service for Lomu, who died on Wednesday, at the Lotofale'ia Methodist Church in Mangere on Sunday night.

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Tongan community leader Salote Heleta-Lilo said she is expecting a turnout in the four digits.

"Jonah was our much-admired son - [a] loved, dedicated and supremely gifted rugby union superstar who fulfilled his immense talent with perfection," Mrs Heleta-Lilo said.

Lomu's meteoric rise from the small village of Holopeka, Ha'apai, Tonga to Mangere, South Auckland, to Wesley College, then becoming an All Black was amazing, she said.

Mrs Heleta-Lilo was quoted earlier as saying Lomu's mother, Hepi, was expected to attend the ceremony. But she later said she did not want to speak on behalf of the family.

Funeral plans are yet to be announced, but planning is under way for a private service and a large public service.

© AAP

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