Rugby great Jonah Lomu was mourned at a traditional Pacific Islander event in Auckland on Saturday.

Ten days after her son's passing Jonah Lomu's mother Hepi welcomed those who'd come to celebrate her son's life.

It was a traditional Pacific Island farewell ceremony, a goodbye all felt was too soon. Lomu's wife, Nadene and their children shielded by her parents. 

– VIDEO: The world loses a sporting legend

Former All Blacks players, family and dignitaries came to pay their respects to rugby's first global supertar. 

The Haka – for a man who fought so hard to stay well. His kidney, replaced in 2004, failed in 2011, making him reliant on dialysis. 

Lomu had spent two months in Europe being mobbed by fans during the Rugby World Cup. Just one day after returning home to New Zealand, his body gave up, cardiac arrest robbing the game of one of its greats.