It was the fairytale comeback that will forever be etched in Western Force folklore.
Jeremy Thrush, fresh out of retirement and with just two training sessions under his belt, scores the winning try in Saturday night’s 34-27 win over the Melbourne Rebels.
Thrush was lured out of his short-lived retirement by new Force coach Simon Cron on the eve of the Super Rugby Pacific season after Ryan McCauley (shoulder) and Izack Rodda (foot) were cut down by injury.
“I dunno if the coach really gave him a choice,” teammate Issak Fines-Leleiwasa told Clairsy & Lisa on Wednesday.
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It’s understood that Cron is considering keeping Thrush for the entire season, and the 37-year-old is open to the idea.
Thrush initially felt a bit guilty about the comeback given the special send-off he received in his retirement game against the Hurricanes last season.
“I felt pretty bad to be fair. The way they sent me off with that haka was pretty special, and I was pretty grateful for that,” Thrush told reporters on Tuesday.
“I did message (Hurricanes hooker) Dane Coles when I knew I might be on the bench, just to give him a heads up.
“I just said to him that none of this was planned.
“He just said, ‘get stuck in and have a good crack at it’. It made me feel better about all that.”
Fines-Leleiwasa said that Thrush’s performance was all the more remarkable as he had “just two training sessions” with the Force under his belt before the game.
Thrush says he will have “rolling” conversations with Cron and Force management about how much longer he is needed for.
The Western Force take on Moana Pasifika this Saturday, March 11, at 7pm at HBF Park.
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