Thornbury comes up smelling of roses for Kiwi clash

READY TO SEIZE HIS CHANCE: Ireland 'A' lock Gavin Thornbury. ©INPHO/James Crombie

The rugby gods have had their fun with Gavin Thornbury. His hopes of a senior contract at Leinster were undone by an untimely injury and fitness issues impeded him again when called into Joe Schmidt’s Ireland camp in 2018.

Last season only got going come the spring, his previous eleven months written off by a shoulder injury that should have cost him no more than a third of that. This week is different. This week feels as if those capricious deities are finally smiling down on him.