In 1995, the New Zealand national rugby union team player Jonah Lomu made a guest appearance for Wrexham RFC against a North Wales XV in an exhibition match. This was done as a favour to the Wrexham coach Phil Kingsley Jones, who had discovered Lomu as a 14 year old. This was five months after Lomu had appeared for the All Blacks in the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final against South Africa and after rugby union had just permitted professionalism.