It may seem a little over the top to classify a player as a Heineken Cup legend after only three games in the competition, but Brad Thorn is certainly that.
By Declan Whooley
The 37 year-old arrived last year to assist Leinster in their push for a third Heineken Cup win in four years, and though his appearances against Cardiff, Clermont and Ulster mean he has one of the shortest European careers in recent times, his contribution cannot be under-stated.
With one of the most impressive sporting CVs around, Thorn’s contribution was hardly unexpected.
He played ten years rugby league in Australia and was nothing short of a living legend at the Brisbane Broncos, he went on to represent Queensland in the State of Origin Series, while in 1997 he made his international debut for Australia where he lined up against New Zealand in the Tri-Nations. By 2000, he had won his third Premiership for the Broncos and decided to make a return to rugby union.
Success was not long in coming for the towering second-row, helping Canterbury to the NPC Championship in his first season and winning his first of 60 caps for the All Blacks in 2003.
Showing his versatility, he moved back to league for two seasons, collecting more silverware before a move back to the Crusaders, with their Super Rugby title victory in 2008 making him the first ever player to win both the Super League and NRL. He won his third Tri-Nations in 2010 and was an integral part of the All Blacks side that claimed the World Cup on home soil the following year.
When Leinster announced the signing after the pool stages of the 2011/12 season, it was greeted with widespread enthusiasm, but even Brian O’Driscoll has said that the professionalism and dedication he brought in his short stint in Ireland was something that rubbed off on all those around him.
His first appearance in Europe was the home quarter-final tie against Cardiff, an almost complete performance against the Blues where they ran out 34-3 winners, but it was the semi-final appearance in that epic victory away to Clermont that was perhaps his biggest on-field contribution.
That 19-15 win was built on a huge defensive effort, and the line-out operator was central to the game plan. It was for games like this that the Heineken champions decided to fork out big for his big-game temperament. The victory over Ulster was just another medal to his staggering collection of silverware and while he returned soon after to his homeland, it wasn’t to put his feet up.
He has joined the Highlanders and while he missed the season opener through injury, he returned last weekend but was unable to prevent the home side from defeat against the Cheetahs.
You would struggle to find any 38 year-old athlete playing at such a consistently high level anywhere in the world, but then again, Brad Thorn hasn’t been described as a freak – in the best possible sense of the word, of course – for nothing.
A short, but highly distinguished Heineken Cup career.
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