IN FOCUS/Joe Rokocoko: He's young, he's big, he's frighteningly quick, and yet humility may be his greatest attribute. Marc Hinton talks to the newest All Black sensation

When Jonah Lomu finally admitted defeat in his preparation for a third tilt at the World Cup, the sadness felt in New Zealand was tempered by the knowledge that a rightful successor had already been found. Lomu's extraordinary power and ability will never be replaced, but in Joe Rokocoko the All Blacks have an equally devastating force.

Rokocoko (which is pronounced Rock-o-thocko), barely 20 when he won his first cap this summer - Lomu had been 19 - has been this year's All Black sensation. Where Lomu struggled so much on his debut against France in 1994 that he was sent back to the classroom for extra tuition, Rokocoko hit the ground running.

Josevata Taliga - most just call him Joe - scored 11 tries in his first seven Tests, twice crossing for hat-tricks and in general providing the ideal tonic for Lomu-itis. In the World Cup, the Fijian-born, Auckland-raised wing should obliterate the New Zealand record for tries in a debut season. He is one shy of the mark achieved by Christian Cullen (1997) and Lomu (1995) and, given that he has the porous defences of Italy, Canada, Tonga and Wales in his sights during the pool stage, the end figure for this his first year of Test rugby could be staggering.

In hindsight, England's feat in keeping him scoreless on debut in Wellington back in June was a triumph. What followed was an explosion of offensive firepower: two tries next up against Wales, three the following week against France, two in South Africa as the All Blacks hit form, his second hat-trick in Sydney on the way home and one against the Springboks in Dunedin as the Tri-Nations was secured with a week to spare. He has failed to register in only two of seven Tests (the first and last).

The comparisons with Lomu are inevitable. Rokocoko also has Pacific Islands heritage (born in Nadi, Fiji, moved to New Zealand aged five), and like Lomu he brings innate physiological gifts to his game. In Rokocoko's case it is speed that, unleashed at its most ferocious (as for his second try against France), can be breathtaking.

Where Lomu rampaged, Rokocoko sizzles. Where Lomu would go over and through, Rokocoko leaves defenders blinking in cartoonish "now he's there, now he's not" amazement. He runs with the silky-smooth style of a track athlete and his timing is terrific. There may be no finer chaser of the kick-through. What luck to have a second such specimen so soon after the first.

Rokocoko does not like the Lomu comparisons, out of respect more than anything. This quietly-spoken young man has no swagger to go with the staggering speed.

"Jonah is his own person," says Rokocoko. "He's a world-class player and I've just got a tremendous amount of respect for him."

Even though he plays for New Zealand, Rokocoko already has the status of a rock star in Fiji. When he returned for a holiday soon after being named as an All Black after the Auckland Blues' Super 12 title, he was mobbed in the street and recognised everywhere. He was the Fijian boy made good in the big wide world.

So, when the All Blacks beat Australia in Auckland to reclaim the Bledisloe Cup for the first time in five years and finish the Tri-Nations unbeaten, it was natural that Fiji's prime minister, Laisenia Qarase, who happened to be in town, should pass word he wanted to meet this young man.

"We had lunch at the Viaduct," recalls Rokocoko. "We had a nice time and we caught up again later that afternoon when we went to a Fijian church service together in Auckland. He's a great guy and I gave him one of my All Black jerseys. He told me that when Fiji runs out (at the World Cup) he'll be putting on his Fiji jersey, but when the All Blacks are playing he'll have on the jersey I gave him."

It is a mark of the respect he has for the leader of his homeland that Rokocoko chose the jersey he wore against France in Christchurch to hand over. He scored a hat-trick of tries in an explosive first half.

But perhaps the gift is symbolic. Rokocoko is a proud All Black and a loyal New Zealander, but he remains a Fijian at heart. "I'm just proud of where I come from and it's something I'll never forget," he says. "You've got to have strong faith with the things that have got you to where you are. I've just been blown away by the support back there."

Rokocoko's path to the national team has been a well-worn one. He played for New Zealand Under-16s, Secondary Schools, Under-19s, Colts and for the senior sevens team before his call-up to John Mitchell's first squad of the year. It has all happened so quickly that he has yet to play in the NPC, New Zealand's national championship (a broken leg playing for the Colts in 2002 ruined that prospect).

He says making the most renowned rugby team on the planet was never a burning ambition. "I didn't actually think as a youngster, 'I want to be an All Black'. I just wanted to make the various teams I was eligible for."

And now that he has done so, the 6 ft 2 in, 15 st speedster has had no time to take stock of it all.

"I've been pretty happy with how I've coped through my first few big Test matches. Especially playing my first Test against England, then the Tri-Nations. I coped with it, but that's all gone now with another chapter coming up in Australia which I'm really looking forward to. I don't think it's time to start looking back just yet."

He is a man with the deepest of respect for the people around him. He describes himself as Doug Howlett's apprentice ("He's a world-class professional in my eyes, and he really sets the example"), pays tribute to the direction provided by senior All Blacks, lauds the forwards who lay on the quality ball on the field and deflects credit to fellow backs who dish him up his opportunities. Humility may be Rokocoko's greatest attribute.

Another All Black wing of recent vintage, Joeli Vidiri, is Rokocoko's cousin and lives in the family home in Auckland. Like Lomu, Vidiri, a star of the Blues in the 1990s and a one-Test All Black, has a kidney ailment and needs a transplant.

Rokocoko is close to his cousin and spends as much time as he can with him. When he played his first Test it was Vidiri's message of support beforehand which settled his nerves and, likewise, his cheery words after that consoled him in defeat. And now it is his cousin's situation which gives him a perspective on this popstar world into which he has been thrust.

"I guess it's a lesson for everyone that you should live life to the fullest," he says. "It's something you have to think about. Make the most of your life because you never know what's around the corner."

Wise words from a young man certainly heeding his own advice.