Jonah Lomu will fly back to New Zealand this weekend to announce his future plans. The All Black sensation has already turned down offers to switch to rugby league and looks certain to reject bids for his services from a posse of British rugby union clubs.

Lomu, who enhanced his considerable reputation with an eight-try haul in the World Cup, is looking increasingly likely to take up the offer of a new four-year contract from the New Zealand Rugby Football Union.

Lomu's manager Phil Kingsley-Jones, who will leave for Auckland with the player tomorrow evening, said yesterday: "He is not making a decision until he gets back to New Zealand.

"It's only fair to let the New Zealand media know first because that's where he comes from. They're the people who should know."

Kingsley-Jones confirmed that he rejected a £1 million two-year deal offered by Super League club Wakefield Trinity and that Lomu would stay in union for the foreseeable future.

"We told Wakefield and Leeds that, at this moment in time, rugby league is not an option," he said.

"It's not what he wants to play. But one day he will play rugby league. It's something he always wanted to do. You've got to remember that he's still only 24 years of age.

"All the offers have been very good and realistic and we're very honoured and flattered but at this moment he just wants to concentrate on his rugby. He has some unfinished business in rugby."

The Leeds Rhinos and the Auckland Warriors had tried to tempt the 24-year-old man mountain to try his hand at league while London Irish and Worcester recently held talks with Kingsley-Jones.

Bristol are now thought to possess the only realistic hope of gaining the prized signature of the World Cup's record tryscorer.

"There are very generous offers," added Kingsley-Jones. "The whole package looks very good, we've got no problem. It is just a decision of Jonah's about where he wants to be. Every day we are re-visiting the options."

Meanwhile, Tony Underwood yesterday retired from rugby union and announced that he wanted to follow his brother Rory into a career as a pilot. Newcastle's 30-year-old former England and Lions wing has been unable to recover from a serious knee injury.

Underwood represented England at the 1988 World Students Cup and toured with England two years later. He won his first cap against Canada in 1992, shared in England's Grand Slam of 1995 and played four matches in the World Cup in South Africa, where he will unfortunately be best remembered for coming off second best against Jonah Lomu.

England's coach Clive Woodward last night described Underwood as "an outstanding player".

Woodward said: "On behalf of the RFU, the England squad and management I was sorry to hear that Tony Underwood has been forced to retire from the game. He has been an excellent ambassador for the game and an outstanding player at club and international level." After announcing his decision Underwood said: "This is a very sad day, one of the saddest of my career. "But I have always endeavoured to enjoy every aspect of my playing career at the top level and I have enjoyed playing for Newcastle Falcons immensely."

Underwood, one of the few players to score more than 50 tries in league rugby in England, rested his troublesome left knee during the summer but aggravated the injury in a match against Bristol.

He hopes to stay involved with rugby but hopes to become a commercial pilot.