Thorne keen for one last match in Bulls cauldron
The Crusaders blindside flanker, who has signed to play in Japan after the Super 14, has not played under the Experimental Law Variations because a calf muscle injury ruled him out of the pre-season matches and last Friday nights 34-3 opening-round triumph over the Brumbies at AMI Stadium.
I could have played against the Brumbies if I had to but it was better to have the extra week (to recover). At this stage I am available, Thorne said yesterday.
Whether he is named to start will also depend on how his calf responds to training before the team is named on Wednesday (NZ time).
If Thorne plays, it will mean Kieran Read drops to the reserves.
Thorne will also hope it is the last time he plays at the Pretoria ground — unless last years history repeats and the Crusaders are forced to return for a play-off.
Thorne, who estimated he has made 18 to 20 trips to South Africa with the Crusaders and the All Blacks, is not intimidated by the parochial Loftus Versfeld crowd and instead uses it to fuel his own desire to succeed.
A bumper crowd is expected at the 50,000-capacity stadium to see the defending champion side at home for the first time this season.
I think that rather than coming here and fearing it (the prospect of playing at Loftus), you can try to use it to your own advantage, Thorne said.
We can use it to raise our own excitement levels. I dont find it intimidating. I think its one of the great challenges when you come to a place like this where you have got all those things against you.
Thorne is hoping to put last years frustrations behind him after the World Cup reconditioning sidelined him for the opening seven rounds of the Super 14. He acknowledged the enforced rest disrupted the Crusaders season before they lost the semi-final at Loftus.
It felt like the season never really got off the ground for the Crusaders. I want to have a good, proper season rather than a frustrating season. It just felt incomplete.
Although his All Blacks career is now over because of his plans to move overseas, he stopped short of criticising the programme. It was disappointing to miss those games but if we had won the World Cup, then we would have said `Great, we won the World Cup. Its just one of those things.
Meanwhile, reports in South Africa say Sanzar has offered Argentina the opportunity to play tests in this years Tri Nations. However, the tests against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa would seem unlikely, given that Argentinas administration is in disarray and it would struggle to get its leading players released from their European clubs.
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Friday, February 22nd, 2008 at 1:30 am under