Jonah Lomu
Jonah Lomu has powered his way back into the All Blacks after overcoming a serious kidney disorder that kept him out of the game for most of the year.
The giant winger, whose barnstorming performance at the 1995 World Cup made him rugby union's biggest star, was named yesterday in a 36-man squad to tour Britain.
Lomu is one of three 1996 Test players to have returned from illness or injury, with inside centre Walter Little and openside flanker Andrew Blowers also named in the Kiwi outfit for next month's trip.
All of the incumbent Test players have held their positions, with coach John Hart saying the selectors had aimed for a mixture of experience and youth in the squad.
'The philosophy of the tour selection was not only to address the nine tour matches, but also to look at nurturing the young players of the future,' he said.
Hart added that Lomu's fightback from illness had been superb, but that he was not expecting miracles from the strapping winger. SQUAD Backs: Christian Cullen, Todd Miller, Jeff Wilson, Tana Umaga, Glen Osborne, Jonah Lomu, Jeremy Stanley, Frank Bunce, Alama Ieremia, Scott McLeod, Walter Little, Carlos Spencer, Andrew Mehrtens, Mark Robinson, Jon Preston, Justin Marshall.
Forwards: Zinzan Brooke, Charles Riechelmann, Todd Blackadder, Steve Surridge, Taine Randell, Aaron Hopa, Josh Kronfeld, Mark Carter, Andrew Blowers, Robin Brooke, Ian Jones, Mark Cooksley, Craig Dowd, Mark Allen, Olo Brown, Con Barrell, Gordon Slater, Sean Fitzpatrick (captain), Norm Hewitt, Anton Oliver.
