All Blacks legend Brad Thorn's 'dirty' admission over England rivalry

Brad Thorn’s record against England was played five, won five. It’s fair to say he enjoyed the fixture, and not just because of the end result.

Thorn admits he’d be ‘salivating’ at the prospect of running out at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, this Saturday, if he were in the All Blacks team right now.

Never one to hold back as a ball carrier or in the tackle, the sight of a white jersey brought out another level of aggression in the dual-code player – even in charity matches.

In 2015, Thorn famously rearranged the ribs of plummy reality TV star Jamie Laing, when playing for a World XV against an England XV in the inaugural RugbyAid match.

“For me, I would be salivating if I was playing, 82,000 at Twickenham and you get to bash white jerseys and make them dirty,” Thorn told RugbyPass.

“I used to hate how clean those white jerseys were. I used to look at them and think I can’t wait to get them dirty; they were pristine white. It was like a red rag to a bull.”

Thorn was talking to RugbyPass from Cyprus, where Malta, who he’s been coaching for the past month, are preparing to play in the Rugby Europe Conference.

Thankfully for the former NRL player, who won 59 caps for the All Blacks, the game should be finished in time for him to sit back and watch the Twickenham showdown.

“This is the big test, to get past England. I am sure England will be feeling pretty primed; they’ll have had eyes on the All Blacks,” he said.

“I think it’s going to be a good old battle. You have got two pretty determined coaches. Borthwick has had some time in the saddle now.”

Having earned hard-won victories against Ireland and Scotland, the All Blacks are halfway to completing a Grand Slam of the Home Unions. Thorn was a member of the last touring squad to achieve the feat in 2010, having also done so two years earlier.

“I was involved in two Grand Slam tours – they were pretty special. I think in the first one we hardly let in any tries (two), and in 2010, with Smithy as the defence coach, we didn’t let in many either (four). We defended well.

“That will be a huge part of the game on Saturday. England will be looking to shut down (Cam) Roigard, and on the other side, the All Blacks will be looking to shut down the English. It should be a great Test.”

The 2011 Rugby World Cup winner will have eyes on Fabian Holland, the young Dutch lock who was Player of the Match against Ireland in Chicago.

The kid-giant hasn’t missed a single game in his debut year as a senior international and Thorn is excited to see how good the 23-year-old will be a few years down the line.

“He’s shown a lot of promise. He has a very good work rate, and in that position, it is about work rate and physicality, and obviously he has got his core roles, the lineout and stuff.

“Over time, you grow. I am not saying he isn’t physical now, but over time he’ll grow that physicality – he could be a pretty special, dominant tight-head lock. You wish him the best as a young man at the start of his career.”

Holland, flanker Simon Parker and wing Leroy Carter have enjoyed breakout seasons, as Scott Robertson looks to inject young blood into the All Blacks squad. Painful lessons have been learnt along the way, notably the record hiding in Wellington at the hands of the Springboks, and six of Robertson’s 24 Tests in charge have been losses.

Usually, a win percentage of 75% would stand up well, but as Thorn points out, his good friend of the past 25 years isn’t allowed any leeway, given the nature of the All Blacks’ job.

“There’s a bit of transition there. That team that won in 2011, and went on to win in 2015, you think about Richie McCaw and Dan Carter, those guys learnt some hard lessons until they eventually sneaked past the post in 2011 and then exploded in the next four years.

“With the All Blacks, you always say your job is to win. Other nations can have periods where they are not winning, they are building, but we have to build and still win.

“Scott is giving guys opportunities and is trying to develop his team to win a World Cup, that’s the standard he is trying to get to, and in the meantime, he is trying to put those pieces together to keep winning.

“Everybody is pretty quick to jump on; 75%, you are kidding yourself, but that is not bad, and it can change over time. Let’s see what that is like at the end of Scott’s career.”