John Thornett MBE

Rugby Union

A powerfully built forward with great ball-handling skills, John Thornett played 37 Tests for Australia between 1955 and 1967, going on eight tours for his country, four of them as captain.

An inspirational leader, John Thornett advocated hard but fair play, and his teams recorded famous wins over South Africa, England and New Zealand in the mid-1960s.

He played breakaway in 17 Tests, second-row in a few games, and for the last six years of his international career, was one of the world's best prop forwards.

He was the second Australian player, after Nicholas Shehadie, to play 100 games for his country.

In a rugby rarity, brothers locked against brothers in the third Test in New Zealand in 1962, when John and Dick Thornett tested the Kiwi pair of Colin and Stan Meads.

John Thornett was also a NSW water polo representative from 1955-58.