Rugby: A game to treasure for veteran prop

By CHRIS RATTUE

It was a day Dean Thompson had dreamed of for many years.

At the age of 30, the East Coast Bays prop ran out on to North Harbour Stadium - alongside his great mate Slade McFarland - to finally make his debut in the NPC.

There are not too many similar fairytale stories left in big-time rugby in an age where prospects are spotted and slotted into the system when they are still working out the best way of dealing with acne.

But Thompson proved the value of perseverance as he lined up against Counties Manukau on Saturday.

Not that he had gone through the grades unnoticed. He had played for every North Harbour age-group side, including the Colts. But his representative career stopped there, and when he and three partners launched their company, Haka NZ, which imports sports goods and toys for major chain stores, Thompson eased back on rugby.

Then a couple of seasons ago he decided to get a personal trainer and launch into his ambition of playing in the NPC. It almost paid off last year when he was selected in the early-season squad, but a training ground back injury ended his hopes in 1999.

"I suppose last year gave me the smell of it and I've been hard at training since November," he said after Harbour's 58-15 win on Saturday. "I really felt that my time had gone, that I'd missed my chance. Today has been the pinnacle. It means everything to me. I've been training so hard every day for so long to get here."

The inspiration for Thompson has been his old Dilworth School rugby team-mate McFarland. The pair have been friends since schooldays and live just a few doors away from each other in Albany. Thompson got the news he had been waiting so long for on Tuesday night when coach Wayne Shelford selected him in the starting side.

"I woke up the next morning and turned on the radio, and the first name I heard was mine. I got the shakes - it hadn't sunk in until then," said Thompson.

Shelford was quick to praise the virtues of his 30-year-old rookie after the match.

"People talk about our young players, but it's important to have blokes like Dean. He's a bit of a tough nut who's been around," said Shelford. "That's not why we picked him. He's had a great club season. But that maturity is important."

Thompson, who recently reached 100 games for his club, must now keep battling for the loosehead prop position in the representative side. Coughlan is due back from injury soon and the player who replaced him in the second half, 19-year-old national Colt Tony Woodcock, is tipped by many, including Thompson, as a future All Black.

But whatever happens, no one can take away the greatest day in Thompson's rugby life.

"I have dreamed for so long of playing in the NPC and especially playing alongside Slade. Running out there with players like Walter Little was just a great experience," he said.

"If I don't do anything else in my footy career, I'll still be able to look back on this day and feel so proud."