All Blacks' Brad Thorn to hang up his boots after playing grand final of Rugby World Cup 2011
All Blacks seasoned lock, Brad Thorn, has indicated his retirement from international rugby after participating in the grand final of RWC 2011 against France on Sunday, October 23, in Auckland. The 36-year-old Thorn announced his withdrawal from international
competitions on October 18 and said he wants to make his last match of the career very special. All Blacks will take on France in the tournament decider this coming Sunday.
Brad Thorn has been playing for the All Blacks since 2003 and has earned 49 test caps for his side. During his long career with the Kiwi squad, he has contributed a number of remarkable performances for them. He has scored 20 points with the help of four
tries despite playing at an awkward position.
He started off his rugby career as Rugby League player in 1994 with the Brisbane Broncos and played 130 games for the club. He then decided to join Rugby Union in 2000 and put pen to paper for the Crusaders for the Super Rugby 12. He also participated in
New Zealand’s domestic tournament ITM Cup.
However, he was again attracted by Rugby League in 2005 as he switched to Brisbane Broncos for a second time in his career. He played for two more years with Brisbane and took another shuffle to rejoin rugby union in 2007.
Talking to the reporters about his decision to quit, he said that it’s a right time for him to say farewell to rugby. He added that, “To me this is pretty special. Whatever happens, this will be my last game in the black jersey. It's a really good place
for me to be out there.”
Whereas discussing his last outing against Wallabies last Sunday he said that, “When I was excited on Sunday night, we'd just pushed them off the ball. It doesn't just happen, a lot goes on in there and maybe it might take a lock to understand but when you
come out of that you feel you had a real big effort there.”
Thorn has played a vital role in pushing his side into the final of Rugby World Cup 2011.
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