'It All Came Down To Willpower & Mental Strength'

Selected quotes from Jonah Lomu's appearance on The Clare Balding Show on BT Sport 1 as he talks about his kidney disorder and performing the haka.

Jonah Lomu on the kidney disorder that threatened to end not just his career, but his life:

"I knew when I went to the World Cup that I had this illness but I didn’t know how it was going to affect me long term.

"I guess the hardest part is that you’re constantly trying to get fit all the time and my problem was that it didn’t matter how hard I worked I couldn’t get any fitter, purely because I was running on empty.

"It all came down to willpower and mental strength to try and get through it.

"I told the team doctors not to tell the coaches and that was purely because I wanted to be selected on my own merits.”

Jonah Lomu on what it is not advisable to do when facing up to the haka:

"Tony Underwood winked at me. Of all the things you can do, winking is the worst of the lot. It’s purely personal; it’s between you and that person."

We'll have more from Jonah's appearance on the show in the coming days.