Mike Tindall has made a heartfelt tribute to the late New Zealand rugby star Jonah Lomu.
The 46-year-old former England rugby centre, husband of Princess Anne’s daughter Zara, faced off against the All-Blacks legend in his sporting career.
Lomu died tragically, aged 40, after succumbing to a rare kidney condition in 2015 which he had been suffering from since the early 2000s.
Marking what would have been Lomu’s 50th birthday, Mike took to Instagram to share a picture of the Kiwi hero alongside a red love heart emoji.
Mike issued a heartfelt tribute to a sporting rival of his, Jonah Lomu.
Getty
Mike also liked a post from the New Zealand rugby team’s official account which commemorated Lomu.
They wrote. “He would have been 50 years old today. A man who changed the game of rugby. Forever in our hearts and minds, Jonah.”
Lomu and Mike infamously clashed during a November 2002 match at London’s Twickenham Stadium.
During the game, the Kiwi winger went on an inspired run to score a try - “swatting aside” Mike and his England teammate Ben Cohen.
Mike shared a picture of Lomu, who died in 2015, with a heart emoji
Instagram: Mike Tindall
The epic moment would turn out to be Lomu’s final try of his professional career.
Speaking at the time of his death in 2015, Mike revealed he was “absolutely devasted” to hear the news.
“For me, he was the first global star in our sport and a nice guy with it,” he told TalkSport.
“He was an unbelievable athlete. You could put him in any generation of the game and he would succeed and dominate, even now.
Lomu's last try came at the expense of a flattened Mike, pictured obscured beneath the Kiwi star.
Getty
“He was such a big guy, fast, powerful, elusive and the best thing about him was he was a nice guy off it. Everyone loved him and he is going to be sorely missed.
“He never changed. He went through so many hard things with his illness and still came out at the end of it as that gracious person off the field. It is a credit to him,” the royal added.
Mike’s comments come as his wife, Zara, spoke candidly about “struggles” within the Royal Family.
The couple were notably absent from major royal engagements recently, including several significant events commemorating VE Day last week.
LATEST ROYAL NEWS:
Mike and Zara have been notably absent from a number of recent Royal Family events.
Getty
The 43-year-old daughter of Princess Anne made the remarks whilst speaking at the glitzy London Sporting Club lunch last week.
Opening up about tensions within the Royal Family, Zara admitted: “It is very hard to see from the outside.
“But, 100 per cent, it is a family that is still going through the same struggles other people do,” she added.
Further comparing the royals to a normal family, the 43-year-old added: “Whether they are relationships, obviously it is very easy to see every day. We’re still very supportive of each other.”
In her speech, Zara also reflected on the late Queen Elizabeth II where she said: “We had a very incredible person to look up to who is sadly not here any more.”
“She was amazing and an inspiration to all of us,” the former equestrian said of her grandmother, who died in 2022.
