Lomu, Jonah

Lomu, Jonah (1975-2015), was a famous New Zealand rugby player. Lomu starred for New Zealand’s national Rugby Union team, the All Blacks , from 1994 to 2002. He also played for professional teams in New Zealand and Europe . Lomu played left wing, a back position responsible for attacking and defending what is considered his team’s left edge of the field. Known for his intimidating size, power, and speed, Lomu scored 37 tries in 63 Test matches (tournament games) over his All Blacks career. (A try is scored when any player touches the ball down on the ground in the opponent’s in-goal area.) Illness cut short Lomu’s career, but he is considered one of the greatest players in rugby history. Lomu was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2011. World Rugby is the international governing body for the sport of Rugby Union.

Jonah Tali Lomu was born in Auckland on New Zealand’s North Island, on May 12, 1975. He was the son of immigrants from the Pacific island nation of Tonga . He spent his earliest years in Tonga. After returning to south Auckland, he grew up in the poor neighborhood of Māngere. Lomu excelled at rugby as a student at Wesley College, a secondary school in nearby Paerata.

In 1994, aged just 19, Lomu became the youngest Test player ever for the All Blacks. In 1995, a dominating performance at the Rugby World Cup in South Africa made Lomu an international star. One particular play at that championship tournament, a rough break through England defenders for a try (one of his four scores that day), is considered one of the greatest plays in Rugby World Cup history. In one of World Rugby’s most famous matches, South Africa defeated Lomu’s New Zealand team in the World Cup final.

Lomu’s rise to stardom slowed abruptly in late 1995, when he was diagnosed with a rare kidney disorder called nephrotic syndrome. The illness forced Lomu out of rugby for most of two years. In 1998, he returned to lead New Zealand to a Rugby Sevens gold medal at the Commonwealth Games . Rugby Sevens is played with only 7 players per side rather than the standard 15. Lomu then excelled at the 1999 Rugby World Cup, but the All Blacks fell short of the title again, losing to France in the semifinals. Lomu’s All Blacks career ended in late 2002.

Lomu received a kidney transplant in 2004. He made a rugby comeback in late 2005, playing professionally for the Cardiff Blues in Wales . Sidelined by other injuries, Lomu returned to New Zealand in 2006, where he appeared for the provincial North Harbour Rugby Union. In 2009, he made another brief comeback with Marseille Vitrolles in France before retiring from professional rugby.

Lomu’s transplanted kidney failed in 2011, and he underwent frequent dialysis (mechanical separation of waste matter from the blood) while awaiting another transplant that never came. Lomu died in Auckland of a heart attack linked to his kidney illness on Nov. 18, 2015.