Louisa Wall: Of Jonah, black jerseys and red socks

Meri Kirihimete!

And a special Christmas greeting to our whanaunga across the globe.

I'd especially like to extend greetings to 30-year old rugby icon Jonah Lomu and I take this time to highlight his sporting dream.

In May 2004 Jonah stated in the Times, of London: "I'll be in the New Zealand team at the 2007 World Cup ... There's no medical reason why not. This Jonah Lomu thing is not finished. Jonah Lomu is an uncompleted project."

When Jonah made the statement he had yet to have a kidney transplant. He had been diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome in 1996, retired not-out injured from the All Blacks in 2002 and was undergoing regular dialysis treatment.

A compatible donor turned up (thank you Grant Kereama) and Jonah had his kidney transplant operation in July 2004.

And now Jonah is back, making his rugby return for Cardiff against Calvisano two weekends ago. He made his home debut against the same opposition last weekend.

His All Black dream is in sight and I applaud Jonah for having the guts to follow his dream.

Jonah could have settled for an ambassador role early in 2004 that the International Rugby Board was keen to bestow on him but he was not ready to hang up his boots.

Last weekend, when the 1.95m giant ran out on Cardiff Arms Park for the first time his fans were there in abundance.

In fact, he helped draw a crowd of over 12,000 in the Heineken Cup clash which says a lot about the status of the Jonah Lomu project.

Jonah was a bit sluggish in his first game and last weekend he was still not at an above average level, but who would be in his medical circumstances?

He says he can feel himself getting fitter and stronger every day and he will only get better with game time.

I don't think we should ever stop people from trying to achieve their dreams and aspirations.

If Jonah does achieve his goal it will be a miracle and what a real-life movie that will be.

But regardless, we can all be proud of his efforts to extract all that he has left to give on the rugby field.

Meanwhile, I am rather glad that the Rugby Union's bid to trademark the silver fern for exclusive use in All Blacks merchandise has been rejected.

Get over yourself, NZRFU.

We love you but, there are limits and trying to trademark "a black rugby jersey, or casual shirt made in the style of a rugby jersey, bearing a fern and with a white collar" was just OTT.

Good on the 12 underdog clothing manufacturers around the country who joined forces to protect the fern for all New Zealanders.

That's a great Christmas pressie for us all.

Of course the Silver Fern mark is not registrable and if people are getting confused because they think they are buying the NZRFU-sanctioned jersey and are not, then this begs other questions - and answers - about how the product is marketed and the distinctiveness of such a product.

But to be perfectly honest, people who can afford to attend an All Blacks match know what a bona fide NZRFU, All Black adidas garment is.

It is the only product to have all the right markings in addition to the silver fern - that is All Blacks, adidas logo and NZRFU rugby logo. It's just a matter of choice for the punters.

And if the rugby union are that concerned about people not getting the real jersey then they should make the price of the real jersey more competitively accessible. And have I mentioned the made-in-New Zealand status of such garments? Never mind, that's another Red Socks story.

So, in this season of joy and celebration, have a good one and mind the sun!


* Louisa Wall is a former New Zealand rugby and netball representative