JUNE/JULY 2015 // NZ RUGBY WORLD //
69
2001
Plays most of his rugby at No 8 for the
Crusaders and helps Canterbury win the
NPC final. He was a surprise selection for the
All Blacks end of year tour, but he turned
down the selection. He didn’t feel he was
ready for it and didn’t know if he was going to
commit to rugby longer term as he felt like a
fish out of water.
2002
Takes the season o and goes travelling with
his girlfriend who is now his wife. His faith – he
is a devout Christian – helps him restore order
and find himself and he returns to New
Zealand with a desire to become a world class
rugby player.
2003
Plays at lock for the Crusaders who reach
the Super Rugby final. Looks more composed
and comfortable with the game and
deservedly makes his debut against Wales. He
won 12 caps that year and started to look more
convincing as an international player.
Continued over
on in New Zealand. But Thorn was
always confident his desire was strong
enough to keep going until 2011.
“I have little things that I keep my eye
on, which is my passion and hunger and
how hard I’m prepared to work,” he said
in Marseilles before the final test of 2009.
“When I say how hard I’m prepared to
work, I’m talking about first day at
preseason.
“I am always striving for excellence
and I know it only comes through hard
work. Hunger, how the body is feeling -
all those sorts of things, I keep an eye on.
So far I can say that I’m as hungry as
anything and my body feels great.
Basically, the only reason I would retire
now would be because it’s common at this
age for people to do so. It would just be
for the sake of it but I still have goals and
things I want to achieve.”
Still some doubted – even when he
rampaged through 2010, proving,
definitively, that he was a world class
lock.
His performances the following year
were arguably the best of his career. He
timed his run superbly – hitting his best
form in the World Cup quarterfinal,
scoring the critical try that buried
Argentina. A week later, on the same
ground, no one will ever forget his
gesturing to the crowd with four minutes
left. The All Blacks had crushed the
Wallabies in a scrum and Thorn
demanded the people of New Zealand
show their appreciation.
Then, of course, there was the
crowning moment – the World Cup final
and the unforgettable sight of the All
Black hard man, on his knees, hand over
his eyes, uncontrollably weeping.
“There was too much on the line,” he
says. “There’s too much at stake. I was a
senior member of that team and it was a
job I just had to get done and then move
on with my life.
“Even to my teammates, I knew I
couldn’t show any weakness. I didn’t
sleep very well, I was pretty much
rundown by the time we reached the
final.
“The pool stage was fine but when we
reached the quarterfinals I shut myself
down, it was business time. I was in tears
after the whistle in the final and that was
because I had put so much pressure on
myself.”
That really should have been the end of
the road for Thorn. He was 36, closing on
on 37 and had seemingly ticked every box
[ brad thorn ]
