Lomu sends warning to All Blacks

Dubai:  All Blacks great Jonah Lomu has warned New Zealand against complacency with several countries making huge progress in sevens rugby due to its inclusion at the Olympic Games starting in Rio 2016.

"New Zealand can no longer take things for granted. There are no weak countries now, everyone is out there to win. And the gap is constantly getting narrow between countries," Lomu told Gulf News on the sidelines of the Dubai Sevens here yesterday.

The All Blacks were dethroned by Samoa as the world champions at the end of the 2010 IRB Rugby Sevens Series. And since then there has been a lot of pressure on coach Gordon Tietjens's boys to deliver by the end of this season.

Global superstar

Born in 1975, Lomu is regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby union. One of the sport's most intimidating players on the field, Lomu has had a huge impact on the game and was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in October 2007. Down in Dubai as a special guest of series sponsors HSBC, Lomu argued that rugby has changed in more ways than one compared to what it was at the end of the last century.

"I don't think the sport has changed tactically but it is just that the players match each other while playing. Other nations are catching up and the gap is getting smaller and smaller each year. You've got to just look at some of the results some times, for instance, Portugal's win against England [on Friday]. You could see that rugby is improving and this is a fantastic development for the sport," Lomu said.

Lomu, who has 68 caps with the All Blacks, is excited with his country hosting the IRB World Cup in September-October next year.

"For New Zealand there is no option, but win the world cup next year," Lomu said.

"All the teams are a challenge to the All Blacks. And it is irrelevant who New Zealand have to play they have to win it," he added.

No question

Asked to comment on past World Cup campaigns that have ended in disasters for the All Blacks, Lomu argued: "There is no question about choking. It was simply that we were not good enough to win. And that is what happens in rugby. Hopefully this will be sorted out next year," Lomu observed.

"Take the 2007 World Cup for instance. We saw so many of the smaller teams push through some big sides, and we need to be wary about this," he added.

He was pleased with the way sevens rugby has grown and progressed world-wide with the culmination coming at an Olympic Games slot in 2016 in Brazil.

"We've got a great vehicle in sevens where we can play and compete at the highest level. "