Reds see Thorn as a chance for change

BRAD Thorn has admitted the axe which ruthlessly chopped Nick Stiles will be aimed at him unless he shakes a winning culture into the non-performing Queensland Reds.

Queensland Rugby Union chief executive Richard Barker explained the stunning gamble on an L-plate coach was made because Thorn can be “a unique catalyst for change.”

The dual-code titan has been a head coach in just nine lower-tier games for Queensland Under-20s and Queensland Country after only finishing as a player, at 40, two years ago.

The successes and hard knocks from 200 games for the Brisbane Broncos, 59 Tests for the All Blacks and all his teams in between have toughened Thorn to every reality in footy.

“I’m not 22 or 32, I’m 42 and I understand what this game is,” Thorn said after another tumultuous day of change at Ballymore.

“It can be quite ruthless. You can be safe and shy away from that but sometimes you step forward and take it on.

“I’m not a career coach who has been at it for 10 years but I’m keen to have a crack and serve this club.”

A post-season review of the Reds’ poor four-from-15 season under Stiles threw up Thorn as a surprise alternative for a QRU rugby committee which included former Wallabies Sam Cordingley, Nathan Sharpe and Mark Connors.

Thorn was ticked by the QRU board weeks ago but the termination only happened yesterday when Barker met with Stiles after his return from a family holiday in the US.

Thorn’s uncompromising standards have been passed onto the Reds as contact coach, in defence and as a highly-regarded gym tyrant.

Barker said the call on Stiles was tough but the right one with the Reds stuck in the rut of four losing seasons since their last finals appearance back in 2013.

“We couldn’t have another season like the one we just had and the risk was too high not to give Brad an opportunity now,” Barker said.

“I don’t see him as a trial coach ... he is a unique sports person who has been exposed to elite clubs.”