Brendan O’Brien
Leinster’s emergency signing of Brad Thorn last month generated all sorts of complimentary and anticipatory headlines and column inches – and rightly so – but before Brad Thorn there was Stefan Terblanche.
Last October, the 36-year old played what he thought was his last ever game of professional rugby when his Natal side faced the Golden State Lions in the Currie Cup but then his old Sharks and Springbok buddy Johan Muller got in touch.
Ulster’s newly-arrived Kiwi full-back Jared Payne had just ruined his ankle ligaments in only his second appearance for the province and they were badly in need of someone who could slot at short notice in for a few months.
That few months extended to another few ... and another. Six months later and he’s still here, preparing for a Heineken Cup semi-final against Edinburgh on Saturday week at what may yet be a packed Aviva Stadium. All this at the age of 36.
Like Thorn, he has learned how to squeeze the last drop out of his career. He eats better these days than he did ten years ago. He knows when to push himself and when to take a time out but he insists he will walk away from the pro game for good next month.
Not that he hasn’t considered sticking around.
“I told my wife that [he may play on] and she said ‘well, you will be playing rugby by yourself’. I said ‘jeez, I’m really going to miss you next year’ but, no, at this stage I feel like I could still do it next year but when is enough enough? “If I stop this year — when I stop this year — I will be very happy because I had a long career and injuries stayed away. I can get up in the morning and go for a run or play tennis with the kids without a sore body or broken bones or knee ligaments, touch wood.”
He knows how lucky he is and that good fortune extends to the timing of Muller’s phone call last year. Ulster were clearly a team on the up and they now find themselves in a better place than at any time since they lifted the Heineken Cup in 1999.
Four years spent with the Ospreys gave him a good handle on what to expect in Belfast but he has been pleasantly surprised by the overall upsurge in standards across the Pro 12 and Heineken Cup since his last European stint ended five years ago.
“Yes. You have to make the right decisions in life sometimes. I’ve been very fortunate in my career with the decisions I’ve made whether through my own knowledge of the game or pure luck, whatever you want to call it.
“But making the decision to come to Ulster at this time is wonderful. There’s just — I wouldn’t say revival — but a good feeling about the team and people in Belfast and Northern Ireland and great support for the team.”
He has anything between three or six games left before he takes up a job organising old boys rugby tours to sunspots like Bermuda and up to four of those could yet see him face Irish opposition depending on results in both competitions.
The end is nigh but there is still much to do.
“There’s so much excitement about the games coming up that that’s all I can think of at the moment. I’m just looking forward so much to that and experiencing new things at this stage of my career is just as exciting as it was 12 years ago.”
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/a0YYDWflIdw/post.aspx
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