KEY POINTS:
The comparisons were cringing and you can be sure Victor Vito felt embarrassed.
Vito is a fine young rugby prospect, an exciting talent whose exploits added to the Wellington sevens tournament last weekend but to suggest he is the next Jonah Lomu is unfair to both individuals. This was a sevens tournament where gifted athletes could showcase their range of skills in a way which does not come into play nearly so much in the 15-a-side version of the sport.
Both Vito and Lomu share a looseforward background but that is where any comparisons should end. Vito is a very promising young rugby player - Lomu was freakish. At the same age he had already played for the All Blacks while he was also several inches taller, 15kg heavier and had better footwork than most dazzling midfielders.
Vito scored several terrific tries as two tired sides slogged out the final of the Wellington tournament, tries which were the difference but to suggest he was heading for immediate higher honours showed a lack of perspective.
Some make it at a young age but there are invariably obstacles to their permanence. Jason Goldsmith made his All Black debut as an 18-year-old in 1988, broke his leg the next season and disappeared from centre stage.
It is tougher to get to the top in professional rugby than it was when Lomu made his international foray in 1994.
Two years ago another young looseforward, Liam Messam, earned a Commonwealth Games gold medal in sevens, was a star of that truncated sport and was nominated as an All Black in waiting. A talented player, he has gone close but is still making his way in the tough worlds of the Air New Zealand Cup and Super 14.
Vito might have picked up a Super 14 contract this season had he not been injured last year but that personal ill-fortune was to benefit Gordon Tietjens, the sevens side and those who saw the young man fending, running and bumping his way through the tournament.
He played for his 1st XV from the fourth form, and was prominent in athletics and also a top scholar. He had that balance and is well through a law and classics degree at Victoria University.
An only child of migrant Samoan parents, Vito was handpicked at a young age to take up a scholarship at a private school in Wellington, where he thrived. He revelled in his sport but also understood the values of academic excellence. Vito retains that equilibrium and may need persuading about life as a full-time professional rugby player. In the meantime he has given us a taste of his flair, he has thrilled crowds and served himself and his family well.
This is a young man who is enjoying himself in the freedom sevens encourages. Comparing Vito to Lomu though is like equating Twenty20 to test cricket.
