New Zealand v Ireland: The much-travelled Kiwi lock is living proof several changes are as good as a rest, writes Gerry Thornley.
THE MOST remarkable route to the Westpac Stadium for the first Test was unquestionably that taken by Brad Thorn. The 33-year-old All Blacks lock has had a nomadic career, punctuating his two stints in union with illustrious sojourns in rugby league with the Brisbane Broncos. When Thorn returned to New Zealand at the start of this year even Graham Henry wondered aloud why he was doing so, yet five months on, Henry picked him to start the All Blacks' first Test of the year.
No one has been more taken aback by this latest development, or indeed his entire career, than Thorn. He won four Grand titles with the Brisbane Broncos, played 14 times for Queensland in the State of Origin series and three times for the Kangaroos when winning the Trans Tasman Trophy against New Zealand, dovetailing this with three-year and one-year stints in union in which he played over 50 games for the Crusaders and 12 Tests for the All Blacks. In over 100 years of both codes he remains the only man to have played Test rugby for the All Blacks and the Kangaroos.
This is a man who has ploughed his own furrow and there's a book in his life story, not just his career.
Pulling up a couple of chairs in the All Blacks' media room, he says he's not the book type and, before briefly going through his odyssey, expresses surprise anyone from Ireland would even be aware of his league exploits.
Although he's taken a few brickbats along the way from defenders of the All Blacks faith for some of his career choices, his story is one of eye-catching resilience as well as achievement.
In a way it's entirely fitting he should have played union for his native New Zealand and league for the land where he has spent most of his life. Those two countries gave him those two sports, as well as much else.
"I'm a mongrel, mate," he laughs, shaking his head, "because when you think about it, all my relations are here, and I've played rugby here for four years, but I was schooled in Australia, all my mates are in Australia and I'm very proud of my rugby career in Australia."
Born near Dunedin, he was brought up entirely in rugby union, before his family moved to Australia when he was just nine. His father, Lindsey, played rugby for Otago Schoolboys and won age-grade sprint championships at 13. He served with the New Zealand army in the second World War, after which he did not come to much, young Brad growing up in a government home.
"Although my family didn't have much to come and go on, they provided a loving and caring home for my brother and I, and for our foster brother," he recalls.
If he'd gone to a private school in Brisbane, rugby union might well have remained his career, but in state schools league dominates and so it became his chosen code - albeit with the tug of what he simply calls "rugby" forever at the back of his mind.
"All my mates played league and as I got older and developed, and had a league career, all my relations were back here, and they were all rugby people. So it was quite unusual."
Starting out as a centre with the North Aspley junior rugby league club, he was converted to a lock (the equivalent of a number eight in union) two years after moving to West Arena at 15. He was signed up by the Broncos in 1994, and in all had 10 years with them, won four Grand titles, and made his last Origin appearance at Suncorp Stadium in 2000.
By then, he'd decided to return to New Zealand and play for the Crusaders in 2001.
"When I moved to Australia, I still supported the All Blacks, and I just had this dream, like all the Kiwi kids, to play for the All Blacks. And then when league went well - by 22 I was playing for Australia - I thought to myself, 'if I'd grown up in New Zealand, would I have had the same path?'
"It was a question I kept asking myself. When rugby went professional it gave me the opportunity to have a crack at it, and if I was going to have a crack at it, I was going to come back here."
League to union is the harder transition, he reveals: "It's hard going to league too. I had to lose weight to play league, but the thing about rugby is all the specialised skills you need; catching kick-offs, scrummaging, lineouts, hitting rucks and mauls - they're nothing like each other. Everyone says they're getting closer but they're a lot different. And I'm the guy that knows."
Unsurprisingly, his first year in union was mixed; the Crusaders suffering a poor Super campaign in which they lost seven matches and finished 10th. But Canterbury's NPC campaign went better, the province going unbeaten. Thorn recalls it as a trying year, living in a one-bedroom flat and adjusting to his new life. He spent much of the time on his own, read the Bible, built his character and "became closer to God. It was one of the most important years of his life."
At the end of it, Thorn was named in John Mitchell's first 30-man squad for the tour to Ireland, Scotland and Argentina. He astonished all and sundry by withdrawing, saying he wasn't ready for Test rugby. It prompted a mixture of anger, including allegations of lack of respect, and admiration for his integrity.
So, at just 25, he took a complete break from rugby the following year, 2002, and married the Sydney-born Mary-Anne Kelly, of Irish-Maltese extraction.
"It (2001) was a pretty stressful year. I became a Christian. Before that time I was pretty hard into the drinking and I was a pretty loose cannon. I just needed to sort things out," he says.
"After '98, for the next two or three years, God helped me to work through some stuff in my life. Taking that year out was really key for me. I got married to my wife and after that I came back in 2003."
Coming off the back of the Crusaders reaching the Super 12 final, losing 21-17 to the Auckland Blues in Eden Park, he made his debut for the All Blacks as a replacement in the 55-3 win over Wales and played in every Test that year. Though it culminated in the World Cup semi-final defeat to Australia in Sydney, that All Blacks team set all manner of records for their free-scoring deeds as they went through the Tri-Nations unbeaten.
"We went to Pretoria and beat the Springboks by 50, we went to Australia and beat them by 50. It was awesome rugby, a great group of lads. Unfortunately Australia, with their backs against the wall, played a great game - their only great game of the tournament - but that's what it's about . . . that's World Cups. You must respect every game. It's like last year's quarter-final. You must respect that game. France turned up. I hate losing. I always have since I was a kid. Nothing's changed. But life goes on."
His disappointment had been put in perspective by the birth of his first son three days before the third-place play-off win over France, in which he scored a try in his last Test for the All Blacks.
Despite playing all 13 games for the Crusaders under Robbie Deans in 2004, he didn't make the All Blacks at any stage in Graham Henry's first year and, slightly embittered, returned to Australia and the 13-man code.
"I found that disappointing. I'd had my first son (Brendan), I have three now (Aiden and David followed), my parents were living in Australia and it was a chance to play one last time with my mates. So I signed a three-year contract.
"I won another Grand final and played in the State of Origin again, which was great . . . and my son got to know his grandparents really well, so it was really great."
As his wife and boys were all born in Australia, he muses: "I'll be lonely in about 20 years' time when I'm watching a Test match."
Thorn watched the All Blacks lose their quarter-final last year and reasons, simply, that's life: "You hear about guys like Michael Jordan, heaps of guys, and they've all had failures or failings. It's how they got up from there, and that, to me, shows the character of a person."
In any event, he decided to give union one last crack and rejoined the Crusaders this year. In part, he was motivated by the ledger in the Crusaders clubhouse that lists appearances and Super titles. He had the most appearances (37) of any Crusaders player with no title.
Incredibly, not only did he achieve his twin ambition of reaching 50 appearances and finally winning his first Super title last Saturday, at 33 he has bridged a four-year gap to play for the All Blacks again.
"It's beyond all dreams and reason. I'm just going with it and enjoying it. I'm at the age where you just try and get the taste out of every day. I'm loving it. There's been a lot of hard work. It's been a long haul and I guess a lot of humbling times, and being around good players like Chris Jack and Ali Williams," he says.
He is living proof of the theory that change is a good as a rest.
"Definitely . . . It gets you out of the comfort zone. It's hard times, but it stimulates you and refreshens you . . .
"For me, nothing's changed. From when I was six, I hate losing and I love winning. I love my mates. The camaraderie in football is massive to me, and showing respect to your opponent after the game.
"Nothing's changed. Getting that footie under my arm feels good, just like when I was a kid.
"They decided to start paying me when I would have done it for free."
