After 16 years as a professional footballer Brad Thorn has seen - and heard - it all, so he wasn't about to fret about Wallabies coach Robbie Deans questioning the tactics of the All Blacks scrum.

Deans, the former New Zealand provincial and Super rugby mastermind, created a stir this week when suggesting the All Blacks did not scrummage and instead relied on "trickery" to hoodwink referees.

All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen took umbrage at the comments while blindside flanker Jerome Kaino also described the allegation as a "cheap shot" and one that might serve as added motivation for the front rowers when trans-Tasman hostilities resume in the 2011 Tri-Nations.

Second rower Thorn, however, had no beef with Deans - a coach instrumental in moulding him into a 50-test All Black.

The 35-year-old dual international even admitted to feeling happy for Deans when the Wallabies ended a record 10-Test losing streak in Hong Kong on October 30.

Asked if he took Deans' comments personally, considering one of his core roles is to add ballast behind the tighthead prop at scrum time, Thorn grinned.

"I've been in the game a long time. I know the game and I don't just mean the game of footy," he said.

"I mean the peripheral stuff around it. It's a grain of salt for me when you hear different comments and stuff -- you know there's a little game going on."'

Thorn has lost count the number of times an opposition player or coach has questioned Richie McCaw's sportsmanship at the breakdown - Irish blindside Stephen Ferris joined the list of detractors this week.

"Sometimes they'll try and plant that seed (in the referee's mind).

"It's just all part of the package."

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