Three-time Cup Crusader reveals his single goal | Canterbury Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Canterbury

Reuben Thorne is the most controlled of footballers, but showed a glimpse of the passion under that granite exterior as he prepared for tomorrow's Tri Nations test against the Springboks at Jade.

A good match against South Africa should clinch a trip to the World Cup for the 32-year-old Crusader, with his peerless ability to cover blindside flanker or lock.

It will be his third World Cup if he goes to France, and no one is more sensitive than the former All Black skipper about the disappointment of the last two tournaments.

Asked by a journo how big it would be to go to a third World Cup, Thorne had only one point to make.

"I just want to win one," he said. "It's not the fact it's an achievement going to three. It's the fact I want to WIN the World Cup."

As with the Crusaders, Thorne has a role in the All Blacks' carefully developed leadership group, and all he learned in the UK in 1999 and Australia in 2003 should be an asset this time.

But first Thorne needs a big game tomorrow.

"I haven't played in the last two games, and it's a chance to really put my hand up and say I'm part of the squad and contribute and play well," he said.

With Jerry Collins the No.1 blindside, Thorne said he knew he wouldn't be a starting "six" all the time. And he said he hadn't played that well in his opportunities so far. A number of players probably felt they'd been below their best.

Thorne puts that down to there having been a lot of changes and some players not having had much game time.

"It's been a bit of a slow start, really. We're sort of getting into the thick of it now, we've had two Tri Nations games, we've been together a long time, and I think the guys are just starting to step up."

The coaches had said right from the start nothing was guaranteed, and there could be selection surprises for the World Cup if players didn't perform in these next two games, he said.

Thorne said he'd long ago stopped going out feeling he had something to prove. "I just work within the team environment, what the team needs, and try and do that as best I can."

Like the All Blacks, the Boks were trying different options heading into World Cup selection, said Thorne.

"They've been labelled a B side but they've all got a hell of a lot to play for, and everybody out there will be putting their hand up determined to stake a claim."

The Boks' hits on Richie McCaw in Durban drew criticism, but Thorne said they obviously targeted the breakdowns.

"Richie's always the first guy at the breakdown, so he cops the sharp end of it," he said.

"Any team would take that tactic on board... to try and get out to him there and stop him having such a big effect on the game. Whether it's dirty or not, I'm not sure. They try and be very physical - they always have been. But that's just the way they play."

With no spare lock on the bench, Thorne is likely to switch to the second row at some stage in tomorrow's test, and demonstrate the versatility and big match experience that could be so useful for the ABs in France.