Brad Thorn doesn't "retire" like normal mortals. He merely takes a break, makes use of his Wolverine-esque recuperative powers and decides when, how and if he returns to the rugby field.

It could be next season at this rate. At 40, a year older than when Muhammad Ali retired, he has hinted at a possible playing return should he be required to suit up by the Queensland Reds, whom he has joined as a coach for emerging forwards. When the season starts next year he will have turned 41.

Thorn has arrived back in Brisbane, a city he has always called home despite his sporting travels across multiple codes and continents. His presence at Ballymore shapes as a genuine coup for the Reds, who have snared one of the most-respected big men the game has ever seen.

It was designed to be as a coach only yet it is understood Thorn insisted on a clause in his contract that allowed him to be selected as a player, should the opportunity or emergency arise.