Uncommon · People

Brad Thorn

New Zealand-Australian rugby league footballer, and rugby union footballer and coach

Bradley Carnegie Thorn (born 3 February 1975) is an Australian and New Zealand rugby union coach and former rugby league and rugby union player. Born in New Zealand, he represented Australia in rugby league and New Zealand in rugby union in a twenty-two year career as a player, starting at age nineteen and finishing at age forty-one.

He was the head coach of the Queensland Reds in Super Rugby Pacific. Thorn played rugby league for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Super League for ten seasons across two spells, winning four grand finals, and represented Queensland in the State of Origin series. He played eight times for Australia – five for the Kangaroos, and three for the Super League Australia team. His usual position in rugby league was in the second-row, and he sometimes played as a prop. In 2000 Thorn was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in rugby league. He first moved to rugby union in 2001, in his mid-twenties, and played as a lock. Over two spells in the sport, he became the first player to win a World Cup, a Super Rugby title and the Heineken Cup. He won 59 international caps for New Zealand, and was part of the team that won the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

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