Former All Blacks midfielder Ma'a Nonu has revealed he once damaged a car belonging to Jonah Lomu and didn't tell him for nine months as he was scared of the consequences.
Lomu's time in New Zealand was coming to an end when Nonu was bursting onto the scene, and the duo were teammates with Wellington and the Hurricanes in 2003.
The pair had a close relationship as Lomu was a mentor for lots of the players coming through the ranks in Wellington, especially Nonu, who used to play on the wing before transitioning into the midfield.
"When I made the Hurricanes, [Lomu] looked after me a lot," Nonu told BBC Sport's Scrum V podcast.
I used to drive my dad's van to Hurricanes training, and one particular day he asked me, 'How did you get here?'
"I said, 'In my dad's van,' and he said, 'How's your dad getting to work?' I said, 'He catches the bus.'"
So Lomu let Nonu borrow one of his cars. But Nonu was very nervous to drive it, and managed to damage it on the first day.
"I scratched it on the first day. I couldn't park it on the road so when I tried to turn it around, I scratched the neighbour's brick fence.
"I told no one, so I used to drive to training early and park in the bush and It took me nine months to build up the courage [to tell him].
"I rung him and I was like, 'Big guy, I've got to tell you something. I crashed your car,'" Nonu told the podcast.
"He was like, 'Don't worry about it.' It was a massive weight off my shoulders. I just wish I had told him earlier."
Nonu currently plays for San Diego in Major League Rugby, but returned to New Zealand during the coronavirus lockdown.
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