KEY POINTS:
If Brad Thorn caps his return to the Super 14 with promotion to the All Blacks it will compare with the most remarkable feats in modern sport.
There have been many other dual rugby-league internationals in New Zealand - Craig Innes, John Timu, Frano Botica and Va'aiga Tuigamala - but, like Lote Tuqiri, Mat Rogers and Co who have infiltrated the Wallabies, they were all backs.
Meanwhile Thorn has plied his trade in the panelbeating division of league and rugby, carting the ball up and smashing attackers for the Broncos and Kangaroos, and doing much the same for the Crusaders and All Blacks.
It is not as if he is a young man either. Thorn turned 33 in February but he is in great shape, is ferociously dedicated and a marvellous example of a professional sportsman.
Thorn was already an intriguing story when he switched from a lengthy league career in Australia to pursue a dream instilled in his formative years in New Zealand before his family moved across the Tasman.
He embellished that fascination when he turned down his first All Black selection because he was unsure whether he could commit himself to the sport and then had a year out of sport altogether.
There was a golden thread with 12 tests for the All Blacks in the 2003 World Cup year and then a fourth NRL title when Thorn returned for another stint with the Broncos. When he waved that code goodbye and accepted a short-term contract with the Crusaders, most would have suspected he would be a back up lock at best.
But fate in the form of Ross Filipo's injury gave Thorn the chance to start and impress in the altered rugby landscape of ELVs. His combination with Ali Williams has been at the core of the Crusaders' set piece solidity and, in the absence of other locks' form and those who disappeared after the World Cup, Thorn firmed in the All Black reckoning. So much that the NZRU were forced to contract him until the end of next year, otherwise he was hitting the exodus trail.
Had Jason Eaton, Troy Flavell and others shown better form the NZRU could have ignored Thorn's claims. Instead, they felt they could not take the risk and offered him an extended deal, one which seems certain to have him in the initial All Black squad announced next month.
It will be a remarkable comeback though not quite as varied a career as that of All Black and league wing George Smith at the turn of the last century. He played for the 1905 Originals, was vice-captain of the 1907 All Golds league team, held an unofficial world record for the 440 yard hurdles and apparently rode a horse called Impulse to win the 1894 New Zealand Cup.
