[2] He played for New Zealand in the 1991 Rugby World Cup scoring two tries at fullback against a very physical Canadian side in the quarterfinals.
John Timu commenced his professional rugby league career in 1995 with the newly re-branded Sydney Bulldogs club.
He was selected for New Zealand's 1995 Rugby League World Cup squad but didn't play any games due to injury.
[8] During the 1996 Great Britain Lions tour Timu was selected to play for New Zealand at centre in all three Test matches, scoring two tries in the first.
There were rumours that after finishing his contract with the London Broncos, John Timu would return to play rugby for Otago but this did not happen.