Criticism at home has not drained Jonah Lomu's appetite for the game, he tells Gerry Thornley.

Ten summers ago he was playing opposite Anthony Foley for the New Zealand schools side against the Irish schools. A decade on he's the most famous rugby player on the planet. Jonah Lomu can scarcely believe it himself, but amongst the big fella's many achievements it's clear that fame hasn't fazed him.

He comes across as the same easy-going, ever-smiling guy he always was, the words of his parents keeping him grounded and level-headed. You take him back to that schools match as a starting point and most of all he recounts Jeff Wilson's match-winning penalty with the last kick from near the touchline 45 metres out.

"I was standing right behind him and I thought he'd missed. He kicked it so wide out and it curled around, and then I saw all the Irish boys just drop. I couldn't get over the kick. It was like a golfer's fade swing."

He says it was a great New Zealand under-17 side, and reckons 90 per cent of that squad went on to play Test rugby, if not for the All Blacks then for one of the Polynesian islands. Lomu himself was switched to wing from number eight as soon as he left school, when going on to play for the New Zealand Colts.

"They saw me playing in a sevens tournament and they reckoned it looked a bit funny seeing a loose forward running quicker than a winger," he says.

Fast forward two years from that schools match. At 19 he became the All Blacks' youngest Test player in the two-Test series defeat to France and then propelled himself onto the world stage with two stunning tries in the 1995 World Cup in the All Blacks' 43-19 win over Ireland. They were like scores out of a comic book, with opponents left trailing on the deck, and after another in the quarter-final win over Scotland, an unstoppable Lomu scored four in a stunning semi-final win over England. And so the phenomenon was born.

Records tumbled: the youngest player to score 10 Test match tries, the first player to score 12 Test match tries in a calendar year, a record 15 World Cup tries. In 57 Tests for the All Blacks he has scored 35 tries, equalling John Kirwan's mark and bettered only by Jeff Wilson (44) and Christian Cullen (43).

But it's not just the tries. Once in a while sports stars come along who transcend their sports. They illuminate and they captivate people, especially children. Now 27, he still retains a starry-eyed, pinch-me-I-must-be-dreaming look in his eyes as he reflects for a moment on Jonah Lomu being, well, Jonah Lomu.

"Never dreamt it. Never ever knew it was going to happen like that. I just woke up one morning and, boom, everything just fell into place. It's one of those things. I still wake up in the morning and ask 'is this actually happening?'

"But there's one thing my parents always said to me and that's 'never take anything for granted'. I definitely don't take any of this for granted. Playing for the All Blacks. It's an opportunity of a lifetime and I know that there's a few million people out there that would love to be in my shoes, and playing for the All Blacks. It's something I've cherished since I played my first school grade side and I still cherish it just as much. This weekend will be my 58th Test and it's going to feel like my first still."

There are some things money can't buy. So, for all the constant speculation about Lomu, perhaps with a move to the more lucrative English or French club scenes, or to rugby league, it's clear that lining his pocket comes a poor second for him.

"Playing for the All Blacks is still the number one. Basically you'd give your right leg for it. When you get ready to run out on to the pitch you know that you've got to do a job, to switch on and focus, and it's the greatest reward in rugby, running out for your country."

Lots of trappings come with the fame game, but as he says himself, if he gets cut he bleeds, just like everyone else. "My mum's always said the people you meet on the way up are the people you're going to meet on the way down. So you treat them the same. I've always lived by that and also what you see is what you get. I'm not going to change myself for anyone and I give anyone I meet the respect they deserve and I hope they give it back to me. The fame game is the fame game. To me, I'm Jonah. Born and brought up in South Auckland, and Tongan by origin, and I play for the New Zealand All Blacks. And that's it. Outside of that I'm anybody's mate," he adds laughing. "It's all good."

He often cites his parents in conversation, and other major influences in his life are religion and music. "I like to say a prayer before I run out on the field, more to bless the field and bless the players, look after both sides, make sure that no one comes off with any serious injuries. And that's before I play."

He has speakers in every room of his house, as well as his car and his headphones. "I've just got to have music around the whole time. All sorts. Anything. I can go from Marvin Gaye through to Atlantic Star, Van Morrison, you name it. I'm very versatile in that area."

He has over 3,000 CDs, all downloaded to his computer. "Just push random and away you go. It's like a rhythm thing, and once you get into the rhythm, it's great. I find that it calms me down and also psyches me up. It's just trying to get the right tune at the right time."

In any event, after an undistinguished season with Wellington, he finds he has to prove himself all over again to a far more doubting public and media.

"That goes with the territory," he says, smiling. "They are so fanatical about rugby and very critical about what you're doing. But we've just got to knuckle down and make sure we do what we have to do. The one thing I don't do is read newspapers in the morning. I haven't read one in years, I guess. I just focus on what I have to do, and do what the coaches want me to do."

He admits his Super 12 campaign wasn't that great. "It's just the way it is. Teams play well one year and so forth, everybody has an off-season. It just wasn't us. But when it comes to the All Blacks, we've just got to make sure everything clicks, and I'm feeling really good."

Lomu believes expectations of the All Blacks within New Zealand are excessive, as if they have a divine right to beat everybody convincingly. "The Irish have improved a lot over the years and you've got some class players. People don't realise that. As well as the likes of Brian O'Driscoll and Keith Wood, you've got Geords (Geordan Murphy) out on the wing. I've played with him on the Barbarians and he's got some great skills. You've got some really good forwards as well and New Zealanders have got to give more credit to the Irish."

In a neat sense of symmetry, it's thought that Lomu, named on the right wing, might actually be covering for Scott Robertson at number eight in this Saturday's second Test in Eden Park. But whatever wing Lomu lines up on, seeing him wearing number 14 just won't look right.

"I don't mind at all. I've got '11' tattooed on my chest. I've always got my number on me, so it don't make no difference. To me 14 will be on my back, 11 on my chest but as long as the colour is right, I'm happy."

"Playing for the All Blacks is still the number one. Basically you'd give your right leg for it. When you get ready to run out on to the pitch you know that you've got to do a job . . . and it's the greatest reward in rugby, running out for your country."