Richard Norman THORNETT

Leaving school, Thornett joined the NSW Police Force and was appointed to Darlinghurst station. He also went to the Randwick Rugby Club as second rower and lock, joining his brother Ken. He also found a place in the NSW water polo team. At 188 centimetres and weighing 104 kilograms, in 1960 Thornett competed for Australia in water polo at the Rome Olympics. In the 1961 season, he played in the Randwick first grade side.

Thornett played with the Wallabies for their second Test against Fiji in 1961, joining his other brother, John. His game was distinguished by his uncanny ball distribution skills.

He toured with the Wallabies in South Africa and ended playing 11 rugby Tests for Australia. In 1962, when Dick and John lined up in the second row against New Zealand, Dick Thornett was acknowledged as the finest forward out of both teams. North Sydney, South Sydney, Newtown and St George rugby league clubs were bidding for him. Parramatta, which had already signed on Ken, was said to be prepared to better the offer of any other club.

Joining Parramatta in 1963, Thornett handled his fame easily. The sports writer Jim Webster said: ”Despite his massive frame, Dick is docile – off the field – and very quietly spoken. A bit stand-offish to those unknown to him, he is reserved and speaks in very low tones even when a friendship is made.” Parramatta reached the final in the Sydney competition, but they went down to St George.

Thornett had his international rugby league debut on July 20, 1963, when he turned out for the first Test against South Africa.

Later that year, Ken and he joined the Kangaroo tour of England and France. At Swindon, fired by the antagonism of an opposing forward, he produced one of the greatest second-row performances of all time. Thornett played against the French when they toured Australia in 1964.

In 1965, he married Maureen Kay, an airline hostess, and resigned from the police force to help Ken, who was captain-coach of Parramatta.

In 1966 Maureen gave birth to Liesl and in 1967 to Amanda.

Also in 1967, when Thornett finished a four-year contract with Parramatta, he suffered a form lapse and missed a chance to tour again with the Kangaroos. That year he took over the North Star Hotel in North Sydney. He also signed a five-year contract with Parramatta, and in 1968 scored four tries in one match against Canterbury.

In 1968, Thornett was vice-captain to Johnny Raper in Australia’s successful World Cup campaign. He turned out 13 times in rugby league for NSW and 11 times in Tests for Australia. In 1969, his third daughter, Sophie, was born. Thornett stayed with Parramatta until the end of the 1971 season, totting up 168 appearances for the club.

Even that year, he was in the running for a tour with the Kangaroos to New Zealand but he declared himself unavailable because of business. In 1972, he joined Eastern Suburbs but played only a handful of games before announcing his retirement so that he could concentrate on running his hotel.

In 1976, Thornett moved to the Dolphin Hotel in Surry Hills. Ten years later, he and Maureen were divorced and he later married a former Olympic swimmer, Jan Andrew. In 1993 he ran into serious financial problems and had to make ends meet by doing gardening jobs and driving taxis. He then settled in Millthorpe in the state’s central west where he had a small farm and could be near his brothers.

Thornett’s second marriage ended in divorce several years ago and, after battling heart and general health problems for some time, he died in Sydney last Wednesday. Dick Thornett is survived by his brothers and their families, his three daughters, two sons-in-law and five grandchildren. His funeral will be at All Saints, Woollahra, at noon tomorrow.

Malcolm Brown