PLAYER PROFILE
JONAH Lomu was born on May 12, 1975 in Auckland, New Zealand. Tragically, he died on November 18, 2015, at only 40 years of age. He was arguably rugby’s first global icon and a truly remarkable player of his time.
He lived in Tonga for part of his childhood with his aunt and uncle. He started playing rugby at a young age and was his team’s top scorer at Wesley College.
Lomu was the youngest person to play for the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks. He made his debut on the wing at 19 years of age against France in 1994. The following year, he was named Player of the Tournament in the Rugby World Cup.
At 1.95m and 125kg, Lomu was remarkably large for a wing player. He also had great speed and ran 100 metres in under 11 seconds. Furthermore, he was a powerful player and very difficult to stop — he often ran over his opponents.
He held numerous World Cup records, including the most tries in a single World Cup (eight, at the 1999 Rugby World Cup). He was the youngest player to score 10 Test match tries and the first to score 12 Test match tries in a year.
At times Lomu struggled to retain his fitness and a kidney ailment forced him out of rugby for six months in 1997. In 2001, he helped New Zealand win the Rugby World Cup Sevens, but from 2002 Lomu was plagued with health problems. He suffered from nephrotic syndrome, which is a rare and serious kidney condition.
Despite his health problems, he played a total of 63 Tests as an All Black, scoring 37 tries.
Studies show that children who are active 60 minutes per day have lower rates of obesity.
Higher rates of activity in children have been connected with higher test scores in reading and numeracy.
Regular physical activity has been associated with improved behaviour in the classroom and beyond.
Physical development and brain development go hand-inhand. When children are active, it helps their brain to develop.
Play-based activities that require a lot of interaction can help develop a wide set of skills
Lomu was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007 and the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2011, before his untimely death.
On November 18, 2015,
New Zealand went into mourning when Lomu died from a heart attack related to his kidney disease. There were three public services held to honour his life.
He is considered to be one of the finest rugby union players of all time.
Studies have shown that active children are more likely to become active adults.
McDonald’s named a burger after him in The 1996:
Jonah Burger He was offered in a part a James
Bond film in 1999 resilience and promotes taking responsibility for their own health and wellbeing as they grow up.
Aerobic activity has been shown to increase the size of essential brain structures.
Regular activities that require a high level of balance and coordination have helped to show improved emotional responses from those taking part.
Frequent exercise helps to decrease signs of unhappiness and anxiety in children.
The All Blacks are the only international side with a winning record against every opponent.
They have played Italy 12 times and have won on every occasion.
Since the introduction of the World Rugby rankings in 2003, the All Blacks have held the number one ranking for longer than all other teams combined.
The All Blacks have been named the World Rugby Team of the Year 10 times since the award was created in 2001.
Smallest All Black — Alan ‘Ponty’ Reid at 1.6m, which is 5ft 2in. François ‘Faf’ de Klerk plays as a scrumhalf for Sale Sharks in the English Premiership and for the South Africa national team.
He was born in Nelspruit, South Africa, and played rugby at school in Pretoria, which is the capital city of South Africa.
He joined the Blue Bulls as a 16-year-old in 2007. He was included in the Lions squad for the 2014 Super Rugby season and made his debut in a 21–20 victory over the Cheetahs.
His impressive performances in the 2015 Super Rugby season led to his first call up into the South African (Springbok) national side.
De Klerk made his Springbok debut against Ireland in 2016 and made a further seven appearances for his country that year.
In 2017, de Klerk signed a three-year deal with Sale Sharks.
He joined Sale Sharks after leaving South African Super Rugby team the Lions.
He was an instant hit at Sale and at the conclusion of the 2017/18 Premiership season he was named the Sale Sharks player of the Year and was voted as the Fans’ Player of the Season.
He was also named in the Premiership Team of the Year and was shortlisted for the Player of the Season.