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To finish your playing career with a title is the greatest way to bow out.
For a professional athlete to raise the silverware in their final pro appearance is the fairytale ending that so many chase.
This weekend at a picturesque arena in the South West of England, 16,000km from where it all started, 40-year-old Bradley Carnegie Thorn will be hoping that there are two games left in his legs.
If Thorn’s Leicester Tigers can cause a boil over and beat Bath, the final of the English Premiership in front of 80,000 fans at Twickenham lies in wait.
To be classed as the only All Black that the majority of Australians like probably sits well – perhaps because he has played league for Australia.
Perhaps it is because at 40 years of age he is still playing professional rugby in one of the toughest competitions in world rugby and the average punter admires that.
Perhaps it’s because off the field he is as much a gentleman as he is warrior on it.
Whatever the reason, the greatest dual international to have played both league and union at the ultimate level could well be lacing the studs for his swansong this Saturday.
I say greatest as who else can compare the achievements that Brad Thorn has achieved in both games.
In league he has played 14 State of Origin games for Queensland and 8 Tests for Australia (Super League included). In the NRL he turned out for the Broncos on 200 occasions across two stints with the Brisbane club.
In the 15-man game he has played 59 Tests for the All Blacks, 108 Super Rugby appearances for the Crusaders and the Highlanders and New Zealand NPC games for Canterbury and also Tasman.
Add in his time for Fukuoka Blues in Japan, Leinster in Ireland and the current spell with Leicester in the English Premiership, Thorn at the completion of this Saturday’s fixture will have played in at least 440 professional standard, or first Class in cricket parlance, matches.
When you consider that he played no rugby code at all in 2002 while he considered his future, the mind boggles as to his longevity.
Taking that year off also speaks volumes of the man himself. After being named in the All Blacks squad at the end of the 2001 season, his debut season in the 15-man game, Thorn declined the offer, which was the dream he was chasing in crossing codes to begin with.
Citing the reason as requiring time to decide what his future held, it is a decision that underpins the makeup of Brad Thorn. Could you imagine Jarryd Hayne turning down the ’49ers if he were to make the roster?
When Thorn moves back to his ‘hometown’ of Brisbane to take up a position with the Reds in a coaching role, he will need to find a home with a huge pool room.
Thorns trophies include three NRL Premierships and one Super League title, a Super Rugby title, a Heineken Cup, two New Zealand NPC titles and the greatest prize in rugby, The William Webb Ellis Trophy for the 2011 World Cup, Thorn’s last appearance as an All Black.
At 40 years of age, Thorn isn’t just making the numbers, he is an integral part of the Tigers march to the Premiership. With a dominant performance against the minor premiers, Northampton Saints, Leicester has qualified for the finals for the 11th consecutive season and now find themselves one match off a title decider.
However in their one meeting this year at The Rec resulted in Bath handing out a 45 to nil drubbing.
The Tigers did manage to turn that around with victory over Bath at home in January. That said they enter this match as the heavy underdogs.
The game is poised to be a great contest, with both sides keen to stamp their tickets to the big dance at Twickenham.
It seems only fair that a player as respected as Brad Thorn the fairytale ending plays out. No-one could begrudge the man that.
One things certain, Brad Thorn won’t take a backward step in achieving his dream and he will do everything to ensure this weekend is the penultimate game of his playing career.
It seems apt that by reversing his initials, Thorn will be TCB.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.