A career by the Cupful
He may not be a big name in this country but Luke Thompson enjoyed a remarkable career that spanned four World Cups. Richard Knowler reports.
The stags on Luke Thompson’s farm near the Canterbury foothills might be in for a long day if they decide to get toey with the ex-test lock in the deer yards.
Thompson, who recently retired from rugby after appearing in four World Cups for Japan, hasn’t been bestowedwith the five-star status some All Blacks receive in his native New Zealand but his story about combining talent with tenacity is worth telling.
He extracted maximum mileage out of the durablemotor tucked inside his rib cage, earning his money as a professional in Japan after leaving Canterbury in 2004 to begin a new career and help finance the next phase of his life as a farmer.
As Japan’s head coach Jamie Joseph and his assistant Tony Brown discovered – as did Eddie Jones – Thompson never curled up in the corner when things got rough, which is something the deer will discover if they attempt to test his mettle on his land in Cust, North Canterbury.
Although his bodymust have been bleating for mercy when he played in his 71st and final test at the World Cup in Japan last year, Thompson, the oldest player at the tournament at 38 years of age, never deviated.
Little wonder, then, that Japanese fans cheered so loudly for him when the ground announcer introduced the second rower in thematch-day team during ahead of each game during the event.
Therewas more noise, also, when Thompson was substituted; as he slowly jogged to the sideline, a wave of sound would wash over him from the packed stands.
Now it’s all over, Thompson says he probably won’t pull on a pair of boots again.
The former Canterbury second rower has retired with his body intact, and having also set a record for making 14 World Cup appearances for Japan.
Social rugby isn’t really his thing, he adds, which rules out him from appearing for the Belfast club’s ‘‘Munchers’’ team in a lower grade in Christchurch.
When Thompson left for Japan almost 16 years ago he intended to play one or two seasons of club footy for Panasonic, before returning to have another crack at the Canterbury rep squad.
He never did. There have been no regrets. How could there be, when he was involved in World Cup tournaments in France, New Zealand, Britain and Japan.
Thompson played in the Brave Blossoms’ famous ‘‘Miracle of Brighton’’ victory over the Springboks in England in 2015, and last year had the pleasure of seeing the Japanese public go ga-ga over the team as it charged into the quarterfinals for the first time.
The most watched game in the country during the tournament was Japan’s victory over Scotland in the final pool game in Yokohama following Typhoon Hagibis. It attracted a domestic TV audience of more than 54 million viewers.
Thompson and captain Michael Leitch – the pair played for Belfast in their younger years and attended St Bede’s College in Christchurch – got a taste of the movie star lifestyle when they walked down the street to attend a recovery session.
‘‘Michael Leitch is so recognisable in Japan now, that it is unbelievable,’’ Thompson told Stuff.
‘‘And we were standing in the street in themiddle of town when within aminute there were 50 or 60 people standing around us with phones filming us and cars were slowing down to look.
‘‘Before the tournament that sort of thing was just unheard off. It just blows you away because for 15 yearswe could fly under the radar.’’
Japan’s success had positive spin-offs for the players – their profiles have been raised, and as a consequence the commercial deals have rolled in.
Thompson shouldn’t have played in the World Cup last year. Or, for that matter, the one in Britain four years earlier; after the 2011 and 2015 tournaments he retired from international footy.
But when you get the itch, it has to be tickled.
When he made his second comeback, he agreed to step out of retirement in 2017 and play Ireland because the squad had been decimated by injuries.
Thompson’s wife Nerissa, having watched him get so worked up while watching Japan play Italy on TV, urged him to have another crack at the big time and he’s grateful for her selfless act.
Before the World Cup, however, Thompson had to prove he deserved selection and became – at 37 years and 306 days – the oldest player to make his Super Rugby debut for the Sunwolves.
‘‘I am bloody happy I did in the end.’’ He did enough to make Joseph understand he was physically, and mentally, ready for Japan’s bold plan to make the playoffs at aworld Cup.
Some said the team had little chance of advancing out of the pool stage, given Ireland and Scotland were Six Nations teams and possessed bigger forward packs.
The Japanese could have also melted under the weight of expectation from their own fans. Instead they thrived.
With Joseph and Brown staying true to their pledge tomake their players the fittest in the tournament, the Brave Blossoms grew in confidence.
Thompson said it’s difficult to choose between the ‘‘Miracle of Brighton’’ and the wins over Ireland and Scotland when asked to list his favourite World Cup memories.
‘‘It is a tough one,’’ he reflects. ‘‘That game against South Africa in Brighton was pretty amazing because we were sort of unheralded and it was such an upset.
‘‘But then in 2019, we didn’t sneak up on anyone. We had a big mountain to climb and to beat Ireland was amazing, and for me personally as I have spent time in Irelandwith friends and family.
‘‘And to then beat Scotland and make the quarterfinals . . . it is hard to separate those three games.’’
In 2015 Eddie Jones, now in charge of England, was the coach of Japan. He, like Joseph, knew that if the smaller Japanese playerswere to have any chance of creating boilovers they had to be conditioned to play a super-fast game to keep the ball formore minutes.
Thompson said both coaches realised they had to have the trust of players, and theywould buy into the game plan and team culture.
‘‘Eddie gave the guys the belief they could compete at that level. He got the boys to buy into being the fittest in the world through sheer hardship and a gruelling build-up.
‘‘Tactically and technically he might not as been as the same as Jamie and Brownie, but he created his own environment that the boys believed in.’’
Joseph, says Thompson, doesn’t suffer fools. He also likes the fact that as the man in charge, Joseph was willing to be so involved in trainings.
Joseph, who was asked by NZ Rugby to apply for the All Blacks coaching job last year but declined because he re-signed with Japan through to the 2023 World Cup, was in charge of the forwards and involved with the lineouts and defence.
‘‘He is also smart enough to know what the other guys strengths are as well; Brownie with the attack and that sort of thing,’’ Thompson said.
‘‘The other strength of Jamie was that he knew Japan, he had played for it and spent a lot of time there. He and Brownie knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses and what needed developing. It was just a really good combination.’’
Brown also made the point that it was important to have a player like Thompson at the World Cup, because of his training ethic and his mental toughness set the standard required of everyone.
Thompson enjoyed Joseph’s nononsense style.
‘‘He is a good guy, but he doesn’t take any shit,’’ he says. ‘‘If you are not prepared to put the work in and sacrifice for the team and so what was necessary, then there are other people [to play].
‘‘That’s the same with Eddie and other coaches. It is a competitive sport. If you are not prepared to put in, then you are gone. He was hard but fair.’’
The rugby calendar in Japan, like every other country, remains uncertain because of Covid-19. The Top League has been scrapped for this season, and the Sunwolves, regardless of what happens, will not play in Super Rugby beyond 2020.
There’s pride in what Japan achieved at the World Cup. Thompson says the JRFU are lucky that Joseph and Brown re-signed for four more years.
The key, now, he says is for the Brave Blossoms to compete with tier-one teams on a regular basis.
‘‘But they have to be given that opportunity aswell. It’s a two-way street, I suppose,’’ Thompson says.
‘‘The support needs to be there from World Rugby and the JRFU needs to do the right things and be smart with the opportunity that has presented itself.
‘‘I am not sure which one I ammore or less confident in, to be honest.’’
‘‘In 2019, we didn’t sneak up on anyone. We had a big mountain to climb and to beat Ireland was amazing.’’
Luke Thompson, left waves to the crowd after the World Cup quarterfinal against South Africa last year