Dick Thornett

As well as being an international in three sports, Dick was also an Olympian, having been a member of the Australian water polo team at the 1960 Rome Olympics. The combination of league international and Olympian is another small and prestigious group. South Sydney prop Jim Armstrong who played a test against Great Britain at Sydney in 1946, and won a heavyweight wrestling Bronze Medal for Australia at the 1948 London Olympics, also belongs to this club.

Now almost 65, Dick was born in Sydney on 23 September 1940 and grew up in Bronte. He first played some league at Clovelly primary school, but later at Randwick High and with the Bronte RSL club, he played rugby. After leaving school he joined the Randwick rugby club as a 17 year old, and was in the first grade side after just a few games in reserve grade. In the early days he began as a hard running back rower, and played with Randwick from 1958 to 1962, where was a member of the 1959 first grade premiership winning team. His rugby was put on hold a little in 1960 because of Olympic commitments but he was back with a bang the next season when he won Australian selection. In total Dick played 11 tests as a Wallaby, touring both South Africa (1961) and New Zealand (1962). His first union test was in Brisbane on 10 June 1961 against Fiji and Dick scored a try in the 24-6 victory. He finished with five tests against the New Zealand All Blacks, three with Fiji, two opposite South Africa and one against France.

Several league clubs had been following his strong play in union, and early in 1963 at 23 years of age, he joined the Parramatta Eels where he played 168 first grade games over nine seasons. The Roosters signed Dick in 1972 and he played just the one year but missed the 1972 Grand Final when Manly won their first ever title. Dick was very disappointed to miss this big game and believed it was because that he and Arthur Beetson had similar playing styles. He felt that coach Don Furner did not want the two men playing together in the Grand Final.

Dick adapted to league very quickly and Parramatta were one of the top sides in the 1960s making the four team semi finals in 1963, 1964 and 1965. The Australian selectors were impressed with the new Parramatta second rower and he made his league test debut against the first and only South African team to tour Australia. This was in Brisbane on 20 July 1963 and the Australians won 34-6. The South Africans played nine matches on this tour winning only their first two with Northern Division in Tamworth (20-10) and against Monaro in Canberra (41-2). Dick played in both tests which the Aussies won easily. Just a few months later he was on the way to England and France with the historic eleventh Kangaroos, who were the first All Australian team to bring the Ashes back. The 1912 team had also won the series in England but they contained four New Zealanders.

Dick played in all three tests against Great Britain and scored one of Australia's 12 tries in the 50-12 second test win at Swinton on 9 November, 1963 which sealed the Ashes triumph. He played 22 of the 36 matches on tour crossing for six tries. Altogether Dick played 11 league tests, five with Great Britain, four against France and the two with South Africa. He was a member of the 1968 Australian World Cup winning side and played in the final when, the Aussies captained by Johnny Raper, defeated France 20-2 at the Sydney Cricket Ground before 54,290 fans.

As a young man Dick was very busy with his sporting commitments. Not only was there rugby but he had to put in a lot of time in the swimming pool because of his love of water polo. He won three NSW premierships with the Bronte Water Polo Club in 1958/59, 1959/60 and 1960/61. He was selected in the NSW team for the Australian championships every season from 1957/58 to 1960/61 (four years) and won Olympic selection in the 10 man team for the 1960 Rome Olympics. At Rome the Australians were grouped with South Africa, Holland and water polo powerhouses, Yugoslavia. Australia finished 12th from 16 competing countries. The team left for Italy on 15 August with the main body of Australia's Olympic competitors. This 1960 Olympic team was the first Australian side to travel by air and they arrived in Rome after one day compared to the five weeks it had taken the 1952 team by ship to Helsinki, Finland. This was the first summer Games to be covered by American television and CBS bought the TV rights for $394,000. How different to the $20 million or so it will cost the network which lands the contract for the 2112 Olympics when Channel 7's current contract expires after Beijing in 2008.

Dick is the youngest of three brothers with the other two also being international rugby players. The oldest John, now 70 years of age, played 37 tests for the Wallabies, mainly as a prop, and captained Australia in 16 tests from 1962 to 1967. John captained the great 1963 Wallabies to South Africa which drew the series two tests all and were the first team in 67 years to defeat the Springboks in two successive tests. Altogether John made 10 overseas tours with the Wallabies, and at his peak was regarded as one of the world's best props. He too was an excellent water polo player and represented NSW in the same team as Dick. John and Dick played eight union tests together.

Middle brother Ken turns 68 later this year. He played 12 league tests for Australia and toured with Dick on the 1963 Kangaroo tour to England and France. He played all six tests on this tour including the memorable 50-12 win over Great Britain in the second test at Swinton. Ken was fullback for each of the six tests with the immortals Graeme Langlands and Reg Gasnier playing in the centres. Ken joined Parramatta after playing with Leeds in England. He played 136 first grade games with the Eels and coached the club in 1965 and 1966. Dick played in seven league tests with Ken and when the two played together in the first test of the 1963 Kangaroo tour at Wembley Stadium, it was the first time brothers had played in the same test together since 1911.

Dick has had a problem with his left leg for a year or so and recently spent two weeks in St. Vincent's hospital. The treatment was successful and he is back on his farm at Milthorpe in the NSW central west resting the leg. He has three daughters and three grandchildren and they are a major priority in his life.