Brad Thorn will shortly finish his playing career with Leicester Tigers © Getty Images

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Queensland have appointed rugby legend Brad Thorn as the Reds' elite development squad forwards coach for three years.

Thorn recently announced his retirement as a player, ending his 22-year professional career in rugby league and rugby union. He won NRL premierships with Brisbane Broncos and played State of Origin for Queensland before switching codes to win the 2008 Super 14 title with the Crusaders and the 2011 Rugby World Cup with the New Zealand All Blacks. He also won the 2012 Heineken Cup with leinster, becoming the the first player to win a World Cup, a Super Rugby title and the Heineken Cup.

"I am very excited about becoming involved with the Reds and am grateful for the chance to continue my involvement in rugby," Thorn said.

"I'm looking forward to the opportunity of working with the boys and sharing what I have learnt over the years. My family and I are excited about moving back to Brisbane and starting this next chapter in our lives."

The Queensland Rugby Union also announced on Tuesday that Reds forwards coach Nick Stiles had re-signed for a further three years as a senior assistant coach while former Reds and Brumbies strength and conditioning coach Damian Marsh was named head of athletic performance. The appointments follow the weekend announcement of former reds and Wallabies head coach John Connolly as a consultant through the remainder of the season with a view to making recommendations for the 2016 season.

"We have been conducting a review of our high-performance area for some time, which is continuing, in order to deliver our short and long-term outcomes," Queensland Rugby chief executive Jim Carmichael said on Tuesday. "We've identified areas that require strengthening to provide the team with the appropriate support and structures moving forward."

Stiles, a former Queensland and Wallabies prop, has been the Reds' forwards coach for the past two seasons and led Brisbane City to the inaugural National Rugby Championship title.

"I'm obviously very excited to be re-signing for the next three seasons," Stiles said. "The forward pack has developed well over the last two years, particularly in the set piece, and I intend to build on this further in the next three years. James Slipper and Rob Simmons have committed to the program and I believe we have the best young forwards in the country, so there is plenty of growth left in this pack. I'm a proud Queenslander and nothing excites me more than the prospect of helping rebuild this program under the direction the QRU are going."