All Blacks: Gentle giant Thorn keeps feet firmly on the ground

Brad Thorn. Photo / Getty Images

For a role model in keeping things in perspective, you can't go past Brad Thorn.

While the nation's fretting over whether the All Blacks will break their 24-year World Cup drought goes up several notches each day, the tough 36-year-old lock is looking forward to having a little fun.

The veteran of almost 20 years of professional rugby and league is the ultimate competitor on the field, on the training paddock and in the gym, but he knows there is no point in getting all worked up for no reason.

"It would be great," he said of the possibility of ending his career in New Zealand on the highest of notes.

"It would be fun and a great achievement. Just to be part of this tournament and to achieve that final goal would be wonderful.

"Either way, the next morning I'm going to get up and get on with my life but, yeah, it would be cool if we could achieve that."

Thorn's sometimes gruff exterior hides what can be a wicked sense of humour and although he is not afraid of the rough stuff on the field, he is a gentle giant off it - known to be concerned with the wellbeing of others, in particular the development of younger players.

With a playing history of more than 50 tests for the All Blacks and 92 games for the Crusaders, as well as more than 200 appearances for the Brisbane Broncos plus matches in the State of Origin and for the Kangaroos, Thorn has seen most things in professional sport.

But his ability to put things in perspective - and yet think deeply at times - comes from losing a father at a young age and having four children of his own with wife Mary-Anne.

His family are never far from his thoughts and while he missed them while travelling the world with the Crusaders this season, they will be much closer following the World Cup. Thorn will take up a contract with Japanese club Fukuoka Sanix Blues, a move which will drastically cut down the travel factor and extend his life in the game.

"I went up there and had a look and really liked it and enjoyed it," he said. "It's going to be another little change for the Thorn family. It's cool - there's also a bit of sadness about leaving [the All Blacks] too.

"While I'm doing this around the All Blacks ... there's just going to be a bit of sadness when it's all over. But for me it's about enjoyment in these next few weeks as well.

"It's like you can finally focus on it [the World Cup] and embrace it and enjoy it. It's always been, 'get this job done and that job done', but now we can say 'bring it on, let's enjoy this'. It's exciting."

Thorn's experience and his peerless work as the engine of the All Blacks scrum should have him as the selectors' first-choice lock for the World Cup.

While he appears to wear the expectations of the team lightly, there is no doubting his commitment to helping the All Blacks achieve their final goal.

After two successive defeats at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane - his old stomping ground with the Broncos - at the hands of the Reds in the Super Rugby final and more recently with the All Blacks in the final Tri Nations test, you might expect some special motivation to put one over the Aussies.

Not so, he said. "Throughout your career you've got plenty of those memories [of losing] but you've got memories of when it was good, too," Thorn said. "I guess all that experience, bring it to the table and give it a good crack, you know."