Former All Black's son lies mute and partly paralysed

David Thorne (left) and Grahame Thorne

Former All Black Grahame Thorne is living an "absolute nightmare" as his 20-year-old son lies mute and partly paralysed as the result of a stroke after a rugby match.

"I just keep crying ... I keep breaking down. He can't talk and you don't know if he can actually understand you," a sobbing Thorne told the Herald.

"We have lost a son - in the sense of David. Like, we will never have David again."

David Thorne, 20, was playing fullback for Nelson's Waimea under-21 team and was diving for the tryline when he was reportedly driven head-first into the ground in a heavy tackle from behind by a player from the opposing Huia club.

Grahame Thorne believes this tackle led to his son's life-threatening condition, but the Huia club deny it was dangerous and believe it is unclear what caused the injury.

David Thorne continued playing after the tackle, but his condition deteriorated rapidly after the match. While being x-rayed at Nelson Hospital, he had the stroke. He was flown to Christchurch Hospital on Sunday amid fears the highly rated young player could die.

"His condition has not changed since he came in, really. His chances were 70-30 of pulling through and he did. His brain started to swell and his blood pressure went up and they were worried about his brain," said Grahame Thorne, a back who played 10 tests from 1967 to 1970.

"His mother is not taking it very well, and his brothers and sisters aren't either. No one is. He's not going to die - we are determined on that."

Grahame Thorne said he felt helpless as he sat at his son's bedside with his family. "He just wants to go to sleep, but he can't - he's not allowed to go to sleep ... in case he goes into a deep sleep he can never come out of. So we have to wake him up every two hours." His family feared for David's future and "quality of life".

The "pessimistic view" from one doctor was that he would never run again and would be lucky not to have a limp for the rest of his life.

"His arm may come right. It's going to be a long journey."

Grahame Thorne said he felt anger towards the player he believes injured his son. But "the horse has bolted now".

David Thorne mentioned after the game that he had temporarily lost feeling in his arms and legs after being tackled. Urged to go to hospital by his mates, he went with his father and waited about 2 hours for attention.

"He was having an x-ray and he collapsed and had a seizure, which turned out to be a stroke."

An artery in his neck had started to squeeze up like a "tube of toothpaste".

Huia rugby club president Bill Coppins said the team David Thorne played against was "very clean".

He understood the tackle in question was not considered dangerous, and would not even have been mentioned if not for David Thorne's injury.

Mr Coppins did not accept that tackle was the definite cause of the injury.

"It happened to be a tackle that was harder than usual. But from behind, a tackle can only be so hard."

The Nelson Rugby Union said the incident would be investigated.

Union spokesman Lee Germon said the union was aware of the tackle mentioned by Grahame Thorne, but it was not raised as an issue until after the match.

No player had been cited for dangerous play. The union was awaiting match reports.

David Thorne attended the International Rugby Academy's high performance players course in Palmerston North in 2003. "He was a young 17-year-old who had exceptional ability," said the academy's Esther Martin.