While I might not whole-heartedly agree with Martin Johnson's decision to include Steve Thompson in England's starting line up, it does force me to doff my cap to the Brive man.
Having been told he should never play rugby again because of a serious neck injury, Thompson could have taken his coaching job and his £500,000 insurance payment and left it at that. But no. He still had the hunger to play. He sourced a second opinion, was told he could safely take to the field, and decided to give it a go.
Of course, this left the small matter of his insurance payment. If he was to play again he'd need to give back the loot, otherwise he could expect a huge law suit and very probably some giant of a Gaul banging down his door and stealing his kids. Most people, myself included, would probably have thought "Fuck it. I've won the world cup, a grandslam, and 3 caps for the Lions. This is more hassle that it's worth".
But did the big man think that? No. He paid back the loan and got back on the saddle.
And what better vindication of a decision than to get the call up to your national side. He might be in because of injuries to many of the other options but to hell with it. The man deserves a great deal of praise for staging a remarkable come back and for proving to some of the doubters out there that the professional game still contains men willing to make huge sacrifices to play the sport they love.
The more Steve Thompsons we have in the game the better.
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