Timeline Monday 12 May 1975

Events on Monday 12 May 1975 2

• 1975 – 2015 Jonah Lomu The winger who turned rugby into a global spectacle Jonah Tali Lomu was a New Zealand rugby union winger widely credited as the sport's first global superstar. Combining a 120kg frame with sprinter-level speed, he redefined what a back-line player could be and forced the laws and tactics of the game to adapt around him. His explosive performances at the 1995 Rugby World Cup arrived just as rugby turned professional, and the two events together are often cited as the moment the sport became a worldwide commercial product. Off the field he battled a serious kidney disorder for two decades, undergoing a transplant in 2004 before dying suddenly in 2015 at age 40.
• 1975 Jonah Lomu born in Pukekohe, Auckland A childhood shaped by Tongan heritage and South Auckland rugby league culture Jonah Lomu was born on 12 May 1975 in Pukekohe, south of Auckland, to Tongan parents. He grew up in the working-class suburb of Mangere amid gang violence and family hardship, and was sent to boarding school partly to steer him away from trouble. His size and athleticism were apparent from childhood, and he initially excelled at rugby league and athletics before rugby union became his path.