The Brisbane school where ex-Leinster man Brad Thorn coaches

The 42

16-07-2025

IT'S TUESDAY AFTERNOON on the main pitch at Brisbane Boys' College and Brad Thorn is putting the First XV through their paces.
'I wanna hear the wind come out of the pad,' shouts Thorn in his distinctive gravelly voice as the players work on their tackle technique.
They soon move onto chop tackles and jackaling at the breakdown. Thorn gets involved, showing a couple of the teenage players exactly how they can sharpen their skills.
He's 50 now, but Thorn still looks like he could do it in top-level rugby.
The 2011 World Cup winner, 59-cap All Black, former rugby league star, and ex-Leinster man has seen and done it all in rugby, but watching him coaching a busy session with Brisbane Boys' College is proof that Thorn still loves his rugby.
He finished as head coach of Super Rugby's Queensland Reds in 2023 and has been working as an assistant coach with 'BBC' for the last two years. All three of his sons have come through the school, so there was a strong connection.
Down the other end of the pitch, head coach Dan Leo, the man who convinced Thorn to get involved, is overseeing some attack plays. Former Samoa, Wasps, and Perpignan lock Leo is another highly-experienced figure who commands respect from the players.
Leo bumped into Thorn in a coffee shop in Brisbane just after the latter had finished as Reds head coach and now, early in his own coaching career, Leo is delighted to have him on board.
Thorn leads a scrum session. The 42 The 42
'Brad is a Queensland legend in two codes,' says Leo. 'To have someone of his calibre bringing us all along has been awesome.
'I'm only three years into my coaching journey, so having Brad's guidance has been massive.'
Also involved is former Rebels, London Irish, and Gloucester scrum-half Ben Meehan, who only recently finished his professional career and works with the BBC backs and attack.
Mason Gordon, who played Super Rugby with the Rebels and Reds but was forced to retire this year at the age of 22 due to concussion, is lending a hand. He was the out-half last time BBC won a title in 2020. Now, he's working with young players who hope to follow in his footsteps.
After everyone comes together for 15-a-side games, Thorn gets his hands on the forwards again for a short, sharp scrummaging session. He pushes them hard, but they're big boys and seem to be well able for the demands.
'What's that talent show with the guy Simon… Britain's Got Talent, yeah,' says Thorn as we sit on one of the pitchside stands after the session.
'He's always the one that's a bit, you know, hard to please. But everyone wants to hear his score, don't they?
'When I started last year, I was probably the scarier guy, but I formed some good bonds.
'And I believe in young men. So these guys are 17 or 18. There was World War 1, World War 2, guys who were 17 or 18 fighting in World Wars, so I've got a lot of belief in young men and I feel like when they're challenged, they rise.
'Challenging is part of my coaching. We have standards and we have a laugh and a good time as well. But yeah, when it's business time, we're into it.'
One of BBC's hookers working with Mason Gordon. The 42 The 42
There are some highly talented players in BBC's First XV, which the school has high hopes for this year. Eight of them played for the Queensland Reds U18s, also coached by Leo, while two of them are in the Australia U18s set-up.
Coaches and team-mates alike congratulate outside centre Taione Taka when he arrives for training. Taka has just signed a two-year deal with the Reds. He will be kicking on into pro rugby upon leaving school.
Meanwhile, there are commiserations for halfback Isaac Kefu, the son of Wallabies legend Toutai. Sadly for Isaac, he has suffered an ACL injury. But they're confident he will pick up where he left off when he gets back.
Stuart Mitchell, the school's experienced director of athletic development, explains how advanced some of these young men are. BBC have a couple of props weighing in at over 130kg, some loose forwards nearing 110kg, and several lightning-quick backs.
It's clear the young players are deeply committed to their rugby. 'Character over everything,' reads a banner on the far side of the pitch and this is something that drew Thorn back from professional coaching.
'I finished at the Reds and if I want to be coaching professional rugby, I'm gonna have to leave the state or leave the country,' says Thorn.
'Brisbane's my home, I've got kids at school, all that sort of stuff. The other option is in schools or club rugby. Now, they're not big-paying jobs, but I thought I might have a break – I've done 30 years of professional sport.
'There's real purity with the school level, the players are in a learning environment for 12 years, so they pick things up pretty quickly. They don't have bad habits, they don't really have habits yet, and they put a good amount of effort into their rugby.'
Thorn works with the players on their breakdown skills. The 42 The 42
There are lots of players with Pacific Islands backgrounds in BBC and that's something Leo is passionate about, having worked with the Pacific Rugby Players Welfare organisation for nearly a decade.
Brisbane Boys' College is one of the nine fee-paying schools that make up the annual Great Public Schools Association of Queensland competition, the GPS.
Along with a similar competition in New South Wales, the Brisbane GPS is a serious breeding ground for pro rugby players, both in union and in league. In fact, rugby league has started placing talented players into GPS schools, paying their fees so they can develop in these elite schools even if they're playing union.
There is also a growing number of foreign clubs taking a keen interest.
'This year there's been four or five boys [from GPS schools] who have been signed by French clubs,' says Leo, whose two young sons are in BBC's junior school.
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'From this school, a number of boys have already been in conversations with Japanese, French, and Italian clubs to go straight after school.'
Leo, Thorn, and BBC director of rugby Welmar du Plessis do their best to offer the players guidance and advice, with their experience in the game valuable.
Du Plessis is a busy man, overseeing the entire programme from 10-year-old players up to the First XV, as well as coaching the Reds U16s. Everything in BBC is aligned, with teams using the same rugby terminology throughout the different levels.
As well as assisting Leo with the First XV, Thorn runs the 'Tartan academy.' That runs each morning, with Thorn and Gordon working closely with players on their individual core skills and game understanding from the age of 10.
Du Plessis explains that the Brisbane Boys' College set-up is about helping the boys to develop habits that apply to the rest of their education and lives after school. They also hope to instil a love of rugby that means players don't stop rugby after leaving BBC.
Head coach Dan Leo keeps a watchful eye over proceedings. The 42 The 42
'Not everyone can play professional footy,' says du Plessis. 'But you can still play with your mates or you can still kick on and play at a decent level at Premier Grade and Colts [in club rugby].
'It's important for their mental health and to feel connected with an environment and a community. Even for the guys that don't play professionally, they still feel that love of the game.'
Paul Woodford, the school's head of co-curricular for all sports and competitive activities, is originally from the UK and has been blown away by the scale of the GPS competition since arriving in Brisbane.
Crowds of more than 5,000 supporters pack in at BBC for their big matches, with the team running out onto the pitch through a tunnel of bagpipe players.
'It's just such a spectacle,' says Woodford. Other Brisbane schools like Nudgee and Churchie have won far more GPS Premiership titles, but BBC believe they have a very strong team this year.
The campaign kicks off on Saturday with a visit to Toowoomba Grammar School, then it's into what Leo calls a 'sprint' of a season. The GPS schools all play each other over the course of nine weekends, with one bye each, and the team at the top of the table at the end is the champion.
If two sides are level, they share the Premiership. No school has ever lost their opening game and won the title.
Current Wallabies centre Len Ikitau came through BBC, as did the legendary Will Genia, former Australia captain James Horwill, and the likes of Tom Banks and the Gordon brothers, Carter and Mason. Rugby league legend Dane Gagai is also among its alumni.
Some of the current crop might end up in league, but BBC only play union.
The BBC U16s train on the far pitch.
Having a Samoa legend like Leo as their head coach is undoubtedly inspiring, as is the presence of Thorn.
The New Zealand native moved to Australia with his family when he was young and initially broke into professional rugby league with the Brisbane Broncos before switching into union to play for the All Blacks, going back to league for a couple of years, then finishing his career in union.
He's a Kiwi who calls Australia home but it turns out that Thorn is partly Irish too.
Last year, his family dug into Thorn's ancestry with one of the online services that traces generations back. He knew he had some English and Scottish roots, correctly assumed he had some Nordic ancestry, but there was also surprise for him.
'Lo and behold, 20% from my mother's side, Irish,' says Thorn with a smile.
'So one-fifth of me is Irish. I was actually pumped when I saw it and I went, 'Maybe that's why I connected so well there.''
Thorn had a huge impact on Leinster in a short space of time. He came in on a three-month contract in 2012 and helped Joe Schmidt's side to the Heineken Cup, as well as leaving a big mark on key players like Johnny Sexton.
Thorn raves about Sexton's competitive spirit and how he never allowed standards in Leinster to drop. He's not surprised to see the former Ireland out-half in Australia now with the Lions.
Brian O'Driscoll and Brad Thorn with the 2012 Heineken Cup. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo
And that time in Leinster was one of his happiest spells in rugby.
'It's one of my favourite times,' says Thorn. 'I played eight games, plus one A game.
'I had a natural connection with the guys. When I turned up, I said to Joe, 'My goal is to give more than what you expect. I want to give more, so I'm here to serve, on and off the field. I wanna contribute and I'm here to give more than what you've asked.'
'I had great friendships with the big names and the academy boys. I just love people and I love seeing people do well. I get more joy out of having an impact on someone where they can achieve and do well.'
Leinster needed a big man and Thorn did that job, plus a bit more. He has particularly fond memories of the 'war' against Clermont in the Heineken Cup semi-final in Bordeaux.
'I really loved those guys and loved that time. The coolest thing is I get to be part of history in Leinster for all time now because we won a title. That crew, we got some business done.
'I'll always have fond memories about my time there and I just love those guys. And they probably never heard from me, 'cause I can be a bit like that.
'I just quietly do my thing.'
Away from the limelight in Brisbane, that much hasn't changed with Thorn.