Thrush Farewells Hutt and Wellington

While celebrating Jubilee Cup success with Hutt Old Boy Marist in 2014 (pictured above playing in the final against Wainuiomata) Jeremy Thrush lost his house keys. They were eventually discovered on locking partner Steven Bradshaw’s son's trampoline.

At the conclusion of the ITM Cup Thrush will jump offshore and commence a three-year deal with Gloucester. He will join fellow Kiwis John Afoa, Willie Heinz and Tom Marshall at the English club.

200-game HOBM Eagles teammate Nick Risdon shares the value of Thrush.

"What’s great about Thrushy is that when he is available he brings a huge depth of knowledge about the game, particularly the technical side of scrums and lineouts. He is always willing to pass on advice without pushing it.

“He was instrumental in the 2014 Jubilee Cup win where he managed to play three or four games in a row, including the semi and the final. That was probably the first time he’s managed to do that since 2007, and coincidentally we won the Jubilee Cup that year too."

On Saturday the 12-test All Black will potentially play his last game for Wellington, the only province he has played for.

How does the veteran feel about his imminent departure?

"I'm looking forward to it, but I haven't thought about it a lot to be honest. I obviously wanted to be at the World Cup, but that didn't happen so I am just concentrating on playing good footy for Wellington," he says.

Thrush has been playing good footy for a long time. In 2004 he was awarded the IRB World Under-19 player of the year award and was immediately promoted to the Lions, though he didn't actually debut until 2006.

"I was brought into the Lions to train in 2004. That was a really valuable experience because the All Blacks used to play ITM Cup. In 2005 I missed the entire season with injury. I made my debut in the pre-season against Waikato in 2006. My first ITM Cup game was against Taranaki the same year." he recalls.

Thrush's rookie season was outstanding. He played 10 games and was nominated by the Rugby Almanack as one of its five most promising players of the year.

Regrettably Wellington lost the ITM Cup final that season to Waikato. Two tries by Ma'a Nonu weren't enough to stave off a 37-31 defeat.

Unfortunately final defeats have been a common experience for Thrush. Since 2006 Wellington has finished runners-up five times, though he only played two of those finals.

In the 2007 final he scored Wellington's only try - a cracking 40-metre solo - as the Lions succumbed to Auckland.

In 2008 he suffered the bitter disappointment of a 6-7 loss to Canterbury at the Westpac Stadium. A Hayden Hopgood converted try cancelled out two Piri Weepu penalties. Thrush laments this was a tough loss to take.

"That game was played in pouring rain. It was a tough forward battle and despite dominating possession we couldn't get it done," he says.

Wellington was a formidable team in 2008. They won 12 of 14 games and scored 64 tries.

For the first time since 1982 they captured the Ranfurly Shield when they defeated Auckland 27-0 at Eden Park. It was the first time Auckland had been held scoreless since 1896. Thrush scored a try and identifies this game as his best for Wellington.

"It was really special to win the Ranfurly Shield and to dominate like we did. I remember we held a celebration in a bar on the viaduct after the game and our supporters came along and kept trying to take the Shield. One of the boys had to hide it," Thrush laughs.

The following week Thrush scored the winning try as Wellington foiled a fiery Tasman 26-20.

The Rugby Almanack was extremely praiseworthy of Thrush's contribution in 2008. In summarising his season the editors wrote:

"The standout forward of the season was Jeremy Thrush, occasional captain, creating opportunities, linking like a champion flanker, defending with the best. He has all the skills and is very close to achieving his ultimate goal."

The ultimate goal proved elusive until the 68th minute of the second test against France in 2013. Injury saw him omitted from the 2009 All Blacks European tour, but he remained a mainstay for the Lions.

He played every game in 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

This season he has scored six tries including a hat-trick against Southland in Invercargill. He became the first lock to score three tries in any Division One match since the NPC started back in 1976. He was the first Wellington player to score an ITM Cup hat-trick for three years; Matt Proctor got the last one, against Otago in 2012.

Thrush has scored 22 tries for Wellington. His first was on September 10, 2006 against Tasman. Which one is his favourite?

"The last one," he laughs.

Thrush has observed several changes in his time in the capital. What are the biggest challenges facing Wellington rugby?

"That's a tough question, but I don't believe the Westpac Stadium should be hosting ITM Cup matches. I think they should be played at the Hutt Rec or Porirua Park. Those grounds are a suitable size and more intimate," he says.

Thrush is also worried about the increased youth in the ITM Cup.

"It's become a development competition to be honest and I guess that is the nature of the beast, but the quality has dropped and I think some of these kids are being rushed to the top too early."

Ironically Thrush was in a hurry to play professional rugby. Long-time Hutt Old Boys Marist coach Adam Campbell recalls:

"I first met JT when he was at Hutt Valley High School. He and his albino mate Snowy had made their way over for preseason training while they were still at school. Thrushy was in a rush. He knew where he wanted to be and wanted to get there as fast as he could."

"Ox (Mark Fraser) was the Premier Coach when Thrushy first started with us. Thrushy returned from the World Under-19 tournament where he won the Player of the Tournament . Ox was worried about Thrushy's development; the amount of training he was doing and his young age. Ox had Thrushy on the bench for most games and Thrushy was frustrated. Hopefully he now is aware that Ox and the club had his future well-being in mind."

Thrush briefly played for Eastbourne. His parents moved out of the Hutt Valley when he was 19 and he stayed with the Clout's, a loyal club family dating back to the old Hutt Valley Marist days. Gary and Pip still attend every game.

On Saturday, Thrush runs out to play his 87th and possibly his final game for the Wellington Lions.

Forwards that have played more than 80 first-class matches for Wellington as of 14 October 2015 include:

174 Graham Williams
149 Al Keown
144 Andy Leslie
129 Nev MacEwan
125 Ken Gray
118 Don McIntosh
111 Kevin Phelan
111 Murray Mexted
106 Scott Crighton
106 Gerard Wilkinson
103 Paul Quinn
103 Brian McGrattan
102 Murray Pierce
99 Ivan Vodanovich
98 Kevin Horan
92 Paul Delaney
91 Inoke Afeaki
88 Mike Edwards
86 Jeremy Thrush
81 John Schwalger
80 Filo Tiatia