Jonah Lomu Rugby

Jonah Lomu Rugby is a computer and video game released in 1997. It was developed by Codemasters and published by Rage Software. It was released on the PC, PlayStation and Sega Saturn. Its title is a reference to noted All Blacks winger Jonah Lomu.

Overview
The game supports one to four players. There are a number of playable modes - including knock-out, World Cup, regional competitions as well as historical matches.

Jonah Lomu Rugby was the first rugby union game released on the PlayStation platform. At the time of its release, the game received relatively high praise. It was particularly praised for its smoothness of gameplay and the quality of graphics at the time.

Commentary
Much like another sports title published around the same time, Brian Lara Cricket 99, the commentary is of great note amongst certain gaming circles. Supplied by ex-television broadcasters Bill Beaumont and Bill McLaren, the commentary includes oft-hilarious and memorable lines, such as "Oh! Mercy me! What a tackle! That could've put him in Ward 4!", followed by "I hope not Bill, that's a maternity ward!" One particularly quirky piece of commentary is the line "digging in like a demented mole there", which refers to players hurling themselves into rucks. The two commentators were seen to have a great level of banter with one another, adding to the flow and realism of the game.

Game Modes
Friendly Match

Tournament

World Cup

Territories Cup

American Cup

Asian Cup

Five Nations

Pacific Cup

Tri Nations


 * Special Cup


 * Extra Cup

Classic Match

(*= Unlockables)

Unlockables
Playing through and completing all the various territories cups unlocks the "Special Cup", a tournament between the World XV, the Barbarians and the British Lions.

Upon completing and winning the special cup, the "Extra Cup" is unlocked. This extra tournament contains 3 teams these are...

Team Lomu: where every player is Jonah Lomu, the best in the game who can break almost every tackle

Rage All-Stars: containing Mather, the smallest and by far the fastest player in the game, McCabe, the player who can kick far further than anyone else in the game, and T Williams, an extremely large fullback who is about the only player who can stop Lomu 1-on-1 during a correctly timed hand-off

Codemasters: an average quality team in terms of skill compared to the other two teams in this tournament

The Classic Match mode begins with 4 available classic matches, upon completing these you progressively unlock all the available scenarios. They get harder in difficulty, and the final one requires you to come back from a 21 point deficit against New Zealand, with Japan!!!

the matches available are... (controlled team in bold)

New Zealand vs South Africa, 9-9, beginning of extra time, 1995

Wales vs Ireland, 16-21, 6 mins remaining 2nd half, 1995

Australia vs Ireland, 20-23, 47 secs remaining 2nd half, 1991

England vs Australia, 19-22, 6 mins remaining 2nd half, 1995

South Africa vs France, 19-15, 4 mins remaining 2nd half, 1995

England vs Australia, 6-12, 10 mins remaining 2nd half, 1991

France vs New Zealand, 9-29, 5 mins remaining, 1987

Japan vs New Zealand, 3-24, 2nd half kickoff, 1995

Teams Included in the Game
All teams in the game are made up of their respective players from the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa

the teams are:

Unlockable Teams:

World XV Barbarians British Lions Codemasters Rage All-Stars Team Lomu

It is worth noting that the sidestep or "jink" can be used to great effect to make a break, especially to get past the outside half in the centre, whereby you can make good yardage up the middle before the fullback comes to tackle you. The "jink" is achieved by pressing the L1 and R1 buttons together. A "garryowen" aka "up 'n' under" is a very high up and under kick (named after the rugby club) designed to put the opposing team under pressure, by allowing the kicking team time to arrive under and compete for the high ball. This tactic is very useful for breaking a particularly solid defence. This kick is achieved by pressing backwards on the directional button and kicking the ball. The more you hold it the higher the kick goes. This takes a bit of practice. Note that if a garryowen is falling over the oppositions try area, the attacking team will always win the catch as long as there is somebody under it. This is a tricky but fool proof way to score.

New Zealand All Blacks Featured in the Game
1 Craig Dowd

2 Sean Fitzpatrick

3 Olo Brown

4 Ian Jones

5 Robin Brooke

6 Mike Brewer

7 Josh Kronfeld

8 Zinzan Brooke

9 Graeme Bachop

10 Andrew Mehrtens

11 Jonah Lomu

12 Walter Little

13 Frank Bunce

14 Jeff Wilson

15 Glen Osborne

Other Notable Players
Joel Stransky, Michael Lynagh, Phil Kearns, Shane Cranley, Matt Burke, John Eales, Mike Catt, George Gregan, Tim Horan, David Campese, Willie O, Brian Lima, Pat Lam, Rory Underwood, Ieuan Evans, Martin Johnson, Neil Jenkins, Gavin Hastings, Andre Joubert, Philippe Sella, Os du Randt, Joost van der Westhuizen, Mark Andrews, Gareth Thomas, Rob Andrew, Will Carling and Jeremy Guscott.