Catching up with Queensland Coach Brad Thorne

Brad Thorne has dominated the football world on both sides of the Tasman and thankfully, in recent years he has landed in Brisbane. He's been coaching for a relatively short time now, but has drawn from his vast playing experience to be given the job of coaching the Queensland Reds! One word pretty much sums up Brad Thorne. Champion. He's one of the few players that has won both an NRL and a Super Rugby title. And as much as I hate to admit it, he's a World Cup winner with the All Blacks (2011.)  But after settling back in his real home of Brisbane, this can only help the Reds this season.

[Brad:] Appreciate the interview mate. Thanks for coming down again.

[Tom:] Hi Brad, thank you for taking the time to catch up today. I know you must be very busy with the new squad.

How is pre-season training going? The inter-squad game on Friday was great! All the players looked really committed.

Yeah, preseason’s been going well mate. We started in late November, and went through December. We worked hard, as you do in a pre-season for Super-Rugby. A lot of fitness, a lot of strength training and a lot of rugby skills. Then we came back and had an army camp that was good for the boys, took them to some dark places, and then we’ve been training away for the last 4-5 weeks.

Yeah we had that internal trial, and it was good, they cracked into it. I think it was a good result at the end of the night. They got a good workout, both teams, and I think it’ll bode well for us going forward.

If there's one thing that would be a priority to focus on at the moment for the Reds, what would it be?

For me, it’s probably just the culture of the place. Just working hard together and through that hard work, getting more and more connected and tighter as a group. I think that all pays dividends. If you work hard together, and show that you care about each other, I think you see that in the way you play your footy and I think there can be some more improvement there.

You've played rugby in a number of places. You've also played several codes. What was it that brought you to the Reds?

What brought me to the Reds was that I’ve been here since I was 9 years old, this is like my home. New Zealand’s where I’m from, I was born there, but Brisbane is my home. I went to primary school here, high school here, I played my rugby league here. I’ve got a wife and four children, I wanted to bring them back here. I wanted to stay with Rugby and the Reds gave me that opportunity, so I was very pleased about that.

What is your greatest rugby memory?

Greatest rugby memory - probably the most significant one would be winning the World Cup. New Zealand hadn’t won it for 24 years. They’d always been favourites, but just hadn’t been able get that job done. So to be a part of that, to achieve that and win a World Cup is very special. And the next day, to have 250,000 people come, and to have a parade like that, to hold that trophy, it’s pretty surreal.

What was the key to your longevity as a professional rugby player?

I think the key - part of it was genetics, I was lucky - my brother, he always got injured. He’d roll his ankle on a flat bit of grass and I was the other way round, I never had a break as a kid, so that helped.

Also, I put a lot of work into, you know, the gym, flexibility and recovery. You know, if you put a big effort in, you usually get decent results. I’m very fortunate.

I heard a rumour you never officially retired. Is that true?

[Laughs] Yeah I didn’t actually retire, what I said is I’m playing less now. That remains the same and I think I will never actually retire. I love playing. If I didn’t have a family, I’d say I’d still be in Europe now as a 43 year old.

There’s times where I have real pangs of wanting to get out and play, but I have to move on, I’ve brought my kids back here. And I’m on this side of the game as a coach, hopefully I can do well with it.

What's one or two other pieces of advice you would give aspiring players, both boys and girls?

Number one is to love the game, just to enjoy the camaraderie, enjoy the physicality and the sport. So to really have a passion and enjoy. And I guess a bit of hard work goes a long way. 

Potential, or having ability is not enough. Talent’s not enough. You need to work hard and give yourself every chance. All the little skill things, whatever it is, chip away and get those little improvements, and give yourself every chance to progress with your rugby.

That's awesome. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there taking notes. Thanks again for your time Brad. We Reds fans will be cheering the team on this season.

Thank you very much for your time. Really appreciate it. There’s some really good questions there. I’m looking forward to the season as well. And hopefully, we can both have a smile on our face if things go ok.