WORCESTER Warriors president Cecil Duckworth once tried to sign New Zealand legend Jonah Lomu, who has died suddenly, aged 40.

Duckworth was a keen admirer of Lomu and had talks with him to come to Worcester, later travelling to New Zealand to discuss the possibility of the winger signing for the club in 2001.

Duckworth said: "I was in Australia to watch the Lions Tour and I flew to Auckland to meet Jonah and his agent.

"I knew he would be a great signing for us and when I spoke to him he was keen to come to the club and play in England.

"His kidney problems had been diagnosed but were considered to be something that could be resolved without surgery so we pursued the talks.

"Sadly the early diagnosis was incorrect so we were not able to conclude our agreement.

"I often imagine Jonah in a Worcester shirt running down the wing, scoring tries and taking us forward."

Lomu played 63 times for the All Blacks, scoring 37 tries, and lit up the 1995 World Cup in South Africa.

He first visited Worcester in 1999 as New Zealand prepared for the World Cup in Wales, where he finished as the tournament's top try scorer with eight.

Duckworth recalled: "New Zealand set-up their training camp in Worcester because we were the only club in the country which had an indoor training centre.

"At the time, Kingsley Jones was our captain and his father was Jonah's agent.

“I got to know Jonah very well and I arranged for him to come back to Worcester a few years later and sign autographs for some of our young supporters, including our current community coach Sam Verralls, who was seven at the time.

"Jonah was great and he spent a huge amount of time with our young supporters and they took lots of photographs. We had a really good evening."

Lomu also came to Sixways in 2013 as an after-dinner speaker, where he talked at length about his upbringing, family life and career in the game.

Warriors head coach Carl Hogg said he was shocked and saddened by the sudden death of Lomu, who had been receiving dialysis treatment for a chronic kidney problem.

Hogg said: “I think Jonah was the first icon of world rugby.

“At the World Cup in South Africa in 1995 there were a number of things happening in the world and a number of things happening in South Africa.

“Jonah Lomu was the figure of that World Cup and he also transcended the sport. He was a global icon whowill be sadly missed.

“In the early 1990s the biggest people used to play in the forward pack and this phenomenon suddenly came about. It was Jonah Lomu, who was 6ft 5, 19 stone, and could shift and he was good on his feet and played on the wing.

“He was a supreme athlete but was also a good rugby player and it’s sad to see him passing away.”

He added: “I never met Jonah but he seemed a very humble person.

"He epitomises what is good about our sport. He was a sensational athlete and put his body on the line but was also very humble.”

Warriors back-row forward Sam Betty added: “Jonah was rugby union’s first huge winger – no-one had ever seen anything like him before.

"He was a great inspiration and it’s a massive shame he has died.”