Grahame Thorne

Grahame Stuart Thorne (born 25 February 1946) is a former All Black rugby player, rugby union commentator, Member of Parliament and municipal councillor and TV cooking show host. He was born in Auckland, New Zealand.

Rugby union A centre, wing, and second five-eighth, Thorne represented Auckland at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, from 1967 to 1970. He played 39 matches for the All Blacks including 10 internationals. In the early 1970s he lived in South Africa and played for Northern Transvaal and . In 2014, he featured on a list of the top 100 All Blacks. While in Auckland, Thorne initially played for the Auckland University Rugby Club and later for the Pakuranga United Club.

Thorne's sons Bruce and David also played rugby union: Bruce played in South Africa for Transvaal and the Junior Springboks; and David played club rugby in Nelson, New Zealand. The seat had been held by Labour since the 1938 election. Thorne described his unsuccessful Christchurch candidacy as due to "not thinking clearly at the time" but that he had generally "given [his] best when elected to public office." He has married twice, with one son born to his first (South African) wife and four children to his second (New Zealand) wife.

Thorne's son Bruce died when his four wheel drive vehicle overturned near Bloemfontein in South Africa in December 2009.