Jonah Lomu announced as a Blockasset Legend for generative NFT collection

Rugby’s first global superstar will appear alongside four other sporting Legends for a first of its kind generative NFT collection

Blockasset can now confirm that Rugby icon, the late, great, Jonah Lomu will appear in the Legends generative NFT collection, alongside Wayne Rooney, Michael Bisping and two yet to be revealed sporting greats.

The Legends NFT collection is the world’s first multi-athlete generative NFT collection, made up of five legendary athletes from 5 different sports. The collection will be made up of 10,000 NFTs, 2,000 per athlete.

Each Legendary athlete will have their own set of traits designed by Dosbrak in partnership with the athletes themselves. The 10,000 NFTs will go up for sale, with users able to mint an NFT at the same time, first come first serve.

Generative NFTs are completely random, the traits assigned to the NFT are randomized using an algorithm. Blockasset has added another layer to gamify this randomness even further, as the athlete you get on mint will also be completely random alongside the traits. Legends NFTs are inspired by childhood memories of opening sports trading cards packs, not knowing which athlete you’ll land. It’s a new concept, which makes this collection incredibly unique, a first in the NFT space.

The New Zealand rugby union great, and International Rugby Hall of Fame inductee is one of five legendary athletes from five different sports to collaborate for the drop, which will see athlete verified generative NFT’s come to Solana for the first time.

The Jonah Lomu Story

With 63 caps and 37 tries to his name, Jonah Lomu is regarded as a true global superstar of rugby union. During his playing days, the New Zealander exhibited freakish physical attributes, fusing a heavy template with burning pace to revolutionize the winger position.

Growing up in the Auckland suburb of Mangere, Lomu was exposed to a plethora of gang-related incidents in his local area. The extremity of the violence that the youngster had to bear witness to, was the catalyst for his mother to send him to college in Pukekhoe, and it was here that he would demonstrate a keen interest in a range of different sports including athletics and rugby.

As a teenager, Lomu could run 100 metres in approximately 10.8 seconds and his massive frame meant that he could easily pass as an adult. He frightened the life out of his opponents, and it was for this very reason that New Zealand sevens star, Eric Rush invited him to a sevens tournament in Singapore after observing the youngster during a game.

The prodigy would go on to play in a string of rugby union tournaments and looked handy in the forwards, mostly as an openside flanker. But it was only when he decided to move to the left-wing that he would really set the sport alight.

In the years succeeding this switch, which Lomu dubbed as the “best decision I could have made”, the starlet earned caps for both the New Zealand u-19’s and u-21 teams before stealing the spotlight for his powerful performance at the 1994 Hong Kong Sevens tournament.

His frightening pace and God-like stature were now recognised by the world, and at the age of 19 years and 45 days Lomu would debut for the New Zealand men’s national team against France. His start on the wing meant that he was now the All Blacks’ youngest ever test player, a record that had stood for 89 years prior.

The occasion was a tough test for the debutant, however, as he struggled to mark fellow winger, Emile N’tamack in two defeats against the French. But although he looked naïve when it came to positioning, Lomu’s attacking prowess was enough to earn him a place in the All Blacks’ 1995 rugby world cup squad to travel to South Africa. The rest, as they say, is history.

Lomu scored an incredible seven tries over five games, with the pick of the bunch coming against England where he beat two defenders after receiving a pass before steamrolling straight over the top of Mike Catt to secure the points. His performance in this game was voted no.19 in the list of 100 greatest sporting moments and he is widely acknowledged to have been the best player at the tournament.

Unfortunately for the winger, his performances were not enough to secure New Zealand the World Cup, losing 15–12 against South Africa in the final. However, his brute force was enough to push the All Blacks over the line in the 1997 Tri-Nation Series and the 1998 Commonwealth games.

Lomu’s standing in the world of rugby union meant that he could attract a bumper crowd all by himself, and two years after picking up gold, a colossal crowd of 109,874 were present to witness the All-Blacks hero score the winner against rivals Australia in the first match of the 2000 Tri-Nation Series. The year after would see the popular winger win the Sevens World Cup with his home country.

Lomu was a force to be reckoned with, yet for all his might he was viciously brought down by a kidney condition that forced him into early retirement and was sadly, a major contributing factor to his death. This made his career all the more remarkable as he had actually suffered from the condition since he was 21, before it was diagnosed as nephritic syndrome in 1996.

His career was something to behold, and despite never winning the world cup, he still managed to reach the astonishing feat of joint-most tries with Bryan Habana- although it took Habana three tournaments to achieve this whilst Lomu did it in two.

Jonah Lomu is one of rugby union’s greatest ever players. His forceful and pacy style of play meant that he was universally feared by opposition players across the globe, and the adoration of his thousands of supporters was a testament to his character and his ability. He was one of a unique group of players to transcend rugby union’s switch from semi-pro to professional and his memory will live on through both the sport and now our legends NFT collection.

Details on the release of the Lomu NFT, designed by Dosbrak, will be available in due course on our website and social media channels.

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