Thorn
Brad Thorn is a former international rugby league and rugby union star who is now head coach of the Queensland Reds.
Brad Thorn Bio
Brad Thorn is a current rugby coach who is a former dual code international. During his highly distinguished career, he won almost every rugby league and rugby union trophy on offer in the game. Brad Thorn was inducted into the RugbyPass Hall of Fame in 2021.
Although he was born in New Zealand, Brad Thorn moved to Australia at the age of eight. Even at such a young age, his talent was obvious. As a result, in his junior career, he represented the Junior Kangaroos. In 1994, he made his debut for the Brisbane Broncos, where he then stayed until 2000. During this period, Brad Thorn made 130 appearances for the side and won the Super League title (1997), the World Club Championship (1997) and two NRL titles (1998 and 2000).
At the same time, Brad Thorn also made regular appearances for Queensland and won the State of Origin title twice. He also played in eight test matches for Australia.
In 2001, Brad Thorn decided to leave Australia and switch codes. As a result, he signed for the Crusaders and Canterbury. At this point, he was also selected to play rugby union for New Zealand.
Brad Thorn then returned to rugby league between 2005 and 2007, collecting further accolades and championships in the process. However, the lure of rugby union proved too much and he represented the Crusaders again between 2008 and 2011. When he then won the Super Rugby competition in 2008, he became only the second person to win both a Super Rugby title and an NRL title.
During his second stint in rugby union, Brad Thorn represented a number of other clubs, including Sanix Blues, Leinster, Highlanders, Leicester and Queensland Country. In total, across both his stints in rugby union, he was also capped 59 times by the All Blacks, capturing the 2011 Rugby World Cup in the process.
Despite only playing the sport professionally for the first time in his mid-twenties, Brad Thorn also became the first rugby player ever to win a Rugby World Cup, a Super Rugby title and the Heineken Champions Cup.
Upon his retirement from the sport in 2015, Brad Thorn moved into coaching. After enjoying a brief stint with Queensland Country, he’s now the head coach of the Queensland Reds.
