Last month, former Leinster lock Brad Thorn announced that he would be bringing an end to his rugby career at the tender age of 40 after a career that saw him win Super Rugby, the Heineken Cup and the Rugby World Cup.
The New Zealander is fondly remembered by Leinster fans and his old team-mate Brian O'Driscoll, and tonight on Off The Ball, the two were reunited on the show.
Thorn explained his decision to finally retire from rugby, despite maintaining his huge love for the game.
"I'm enjoying my footie as much as ever but I turned 40 and it sort of came up so it has to end some time, I guess," he said, and when Brian asked him if a certain factor influenced his decision, he added: "It's just got to a stage where it was just time to think about finishing. I could still play but maybe it's time to give the family a settled home."
Discussing a bicep injury he suffered last year, Thorn also acknowledged his incredible durability during his long career, saying: "I've never been out for more than four weeks in my whole career. I played a reserve game back in 1995 when I cracked my collarbone and that put me out for about eight to ten weeks. But that was generally the first serious injury I've ever had."
Brad Thorn with his winners medal ©INPHO/Colm O'Neill
And of course, he and Brian reminisced in their brief time together on the 2012 Heineken Cup-winning Leinster team.
"I just love the Irish, full stop. I first went there in 1997 when I first fell in love with Guinness. I hated the first drink, the second one was not so bad but the third time I found the taste really good and the fourth one was awesome," he said.
"I enjoyed Ireland when I played test matches there. I just enjoy the humour, the friendliness of the Irish people so when I went to Leinster, I obviously had a lot of respect for people like Brian and Leo Cullen and I just found them to be a great group of guys. They were passionate about the club and they weren't just there to break even. They were there to compete and strive for excellence. That's how I am too and I really enjoyed the young guys and the senior guys and the camaraderie. I loved when we won the Heineken Cup that it was mainly a group of Irish guys with a few sprinkles of people from overseas. It's different now unfortunately."
Thorn and Brian also reminisced about their famous win over Clermont in the Heineken Cup semi-finals, while Thorn also spoke about the experience of winning the 2011 World Cup as one of the most experience players.
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