Greenyards great passes screen test

David Knox • Published 14 Feb 2010 13:47 0 Comments

A FORMER Melrose rugby favourite has swapped the scrum for the big screen.

Zak Feaunati rubs shoulders with stars including Mat Damon and Morgan Freeman in the blockbuster Invictus, which was released last week.

The Clint Eastwood film tells the story of the 1995 South Africa World Cup where Nelson Mandella helped unite his country through rugby.

And amongst the star-studded cast is the former Greenyards number eight - who plays Jonah Lomu.

Feaunati arrived at Melrose as a fresh faced 21-year-old just weeks before the epic World Cup final between the hosts and New Zealand. Along with players such as Bryan Redpath, Graham Shiel and Craig Chalmers he went on to help the Rose win the national championship.

Zak went on to play for London Irish and Bath as well as winning full international honours with Samoa.

But it's since his retirement from rugby last year that he appears to have made an even bigger impact on the game.

Feunati was recommended to the Invictus casting crew by officials at Bath. He said: "I had to talk about myself for the casting director, and then she asked me to do the haka. I might have scared one or two of the ladies but I guess it did the trick."

The film tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa's rugby team, Francois Pienaar, to help unite their country.

And Zak has several crucial scenes where, as Lomu, he hopes to shatter the South African dreams.

Melrose president Mike Dalgetty told us: "I remember when we brought Zak across when he was just a young lad in 95. He was real talent back then and went on to great things.

"I'm sure a lot of people at the club will be going to see the film if they know Zak is in it."

Invictus won't be the first time Melrose and the movie world have crossed paths. Film crews arrived at the Greenyards two years ago to shoot scenes for Playing On.

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