John Edward Thornett, MBE[2] (30 March 1935 – 4 January 2019) was an Australian rugby union player, who played 37 Tests for Australia between 1955 and 1967 and made an additional 77 representative match appearances.
Thornett was born in Sydney,[3] and educated at Sydney Boys High School, graduating in 1951,[4] where he was school Captain, a champion swimmer, rowed in the 1st VIII, and captained the rugby 1st XV alongside another champion swimmer and rugby great, Colin Smee.
[5] He was a member of Bronte’s inaugural 1st Grade water polo winning team in the NSWAWPA Premiership season of 1958/59, which they repeated again in 1959/60, 1960/61 and 1961/62.
Registrar and Treasurer, but despite focusing on rugby union John remained a loyal and active club member with Bronte AWPC until 1970.
He made the 1957–58 Australia rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and France and played in four of the five Tests.
By this point in his career and with his pace slowing, Thornett had moved from flanker to second-row and then settled into the front-row.
[1] Bill McLaughlin described Thornett in that same publication, "He is quiet by nature, but a very staunch character with the vision to see beyond Sydney football grounds and take in the overall international picture in rugby.
Men followed him into battle because he was solid, dependable, unwavering, a man of undoubted modesty and tangible principles.
[8] He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1966 New Year Honours "for services to Rugby Union football in the State of New South Wales",[9] and inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985.
[12] Thornett was additionally honoured by the International Rugby Board in 2013 with induction into the IRB Hall of Fame.