NEW-LOOK VICKERY WILL FIGHT TO THE DEATH
Phil Vickery, the prop recalled to former England team-mate Martin Johnson’s team to face Australia on Saturday, has an oriental tattoo on his person which translates as ‘I Will Fight You To The Death’. After the disappointment of benching in the 39-13 victory over the Pacific Islanders, the 32-year-old is delighted to have been given the nod over Matt Stevens, and – as his marking suggests – he has no desire to stop battling until the bitter end for his place, and for his country. In order to compete with the younger Bath front-rower, however, a leaner, meaner Vickery has emerged this season.
The tight-head, the only member of the 2003 World Cup winning team still featuring for England, has been advised to stop playing rugby on many occasions after suffering a number of career-threatening injuries but will win his 66th cap against Robbie Deans’s side. “I may not be the brightest or the most skilful player,” concedes Vickery, “but I would like to think that my tattoo sums up what I stand for: I will go to the very end. I certainly will not give up and I am passionate about my rugby. My drive and ambition and hunger for the game is as strong if not stronger than it has ever been.
“Matty Stevens is a great player who I hope is around this England team for many years to come. But I’m not just here to make up the numbers. I still think I have a huge amount to offer – I’m not going to be happy to melt away into the horizon and sit back and say I have got so many caps for England. I want to learn new things and try and improve certain aspects of my game.”
While much has been made of former captain Vickery’s scrummaging which has helped dominate Australian packs in the recent past – most recently 12 months ago in the quarter-final en route to the World Cup Final, and most memorably against the green and golds on that evening in Sydney five years ago – it is his willingness to evolve and keep up to speed with the modern demands of the front-row which underlines his commitment to the sport.
After suffering yet another injury in April – a dislocation of his right knee – he rushed himself back for the Guinness Premiership Final. Though Wasps defeated Leicester 26-16 it put Vickery’s rehabilitation back and he consequently missed out on England’s ill-fated summer tour to New Zealand. But the summer off international duty only strengthened his resolve.
He continues: “I worked so hard with the medical staff to get back for that final against the Tigers, though I think, in hindsight, I shouldn’t have played. I just wanted to do my bit for the Wasps boys. Missing out on the tour gave me the summer to re-focus.
“As a result I’ve lost some weight – just over a stone. It was a conscious decision. As the summer went on I lost some weight and my strength levels did not drop. I felt better much better having found the right balance with my diet and my training.
“Nowadays you have to tick as many boxes as possible as a modern player, and if you are too one dimensional then it is not good enough anymore – teams can’t afford to carry you. Things go full circle with the scrum though; I have been around the game long enough to know that. It changes from people wanting big, strong players to fitter, smaller, faster players.
“But strip it down and take away all the bullshit and ultimately you need guys on the field who are going to give their all. And whatever anyone says about my game, I can put my hand on my heart and guarantee you that I will always give 110 per cent.”
On Johnson’s revolution, Vickery warns that the World Cup winning captain’s reputation alone will not bear fruit. “We can’t think that just because Martin has walked through the door everything will be brilliant,” he adds. “We as a group need to work hard, do it on the field.
“When, in the first conversation I had with him after the appointment, he told me that he did not want me to be captain it became obvious that he would be straight talking. He is honest and fair and his experience can develop and bring on this England team so we can move forward.
“It is going to be an exciting place to be in the coming years. And I will be fighting away until those big eyebrows look at me and say: ‘Don’t bother coming anymore!’”
Phil Vickery, the prop recalled to former England team-mate Martin Johnson’s team to face Australia on Saturday, has an oriental tattoo on his person which translates as ‘I Will Fight You To The Death’. After the disappointment of benching in the 39-13 victory over the Pacific Islanders, the 32-year-old is delighted to have been given the nod over Matt Stevens, and – as his marking suggests – he has no desire to stop battling until the bitter end for his place, and for his country. In order to compete with the younger Bath front-rower, however, a leaner, meaner Vickery has emerged this season.
The tight-head, the only member of the 2003 World Cup winning team still featuring for England, has been advised to stop playing rugby on many occasions after suffering a number of career-threatening injuries but will win his 66th cap against Robbie Deans’s side. “I may not be the brightest or the most skilful player,” concedes Vickery, “but I would like to think that my tattoo sums up what I stand for: I will go to the very end. I certainly will not give up and I am passionate about my rugby. My drive and ambition and hunger for the game is as strong if not stronger than it has ever been.
“Matty Stevens is a great player who I hope is around this England team for many years to come. But I’m not just here to make up the numbers. I still think I have a huge amount to offer – I’m not going to be happy to melt away into the horizon and sit back and say I have got so many caps for England. I want to learn new things and try and improve certain aspects of my game.”
While much has been made of former captain Vickery’s scrummaging which has helped dominate Australian packs in the recent past – most recently 12 months ago in the quarter-final en route to the World Cup Final, and most memorably against the green and golds on that evening in Sydney five years ago – it is his willingness to evolve and keep up to speed with the modern demands of the front-row which underlines his commitment to the sport.
After suffering yet another injury in April – a dislocation of his right knee – he rushed himself back for the Guinness Premiership Final. Though Wasps defeated Leicester 26-16 it put Vickery’s rehabilitation back and he consequently missed out on England’s ill-fated summer tour to New Zealand. But the summer off international duty only strengthened his resolve.
He continues: “I worked so hard with the medical staff to get back for that final against the Tigers, though I think, in hindsight, I shouldn’t have played. I just wanted to do my bit for the Wasps boys. Missing out on the tour gave me the summer to re-focus.
“As a result I’ve lost some weight – just over a stone. It was a conscious decision. As the summer went on I lost some weight and my strength levels did not drop. I felt better much better having found the right balance with my diet and my training.
“Nowadays you have to tick as many boxes as possible as a modern player, and if you are too one dimensional then it is not good enough anymore – teams can’t afford to carry you. Things go full circle with the scrum though; I have been around the game long enough to know that. It changes from people wanting big, strong players to fitter, smaller, faster players.
“But strip it down and take away all the bullshit and ultimately you need guys on the field who are going to give their all. And whatever anyone says about my game, I can put my hand on my heart and guarantee you that I will always give 110 per cent.”
On Johnson’s revolution, Vickery warns that the World Cup winning captain’s reputation alone will not bear fruit. “We can’t think that just because Martin has walked through the door everything will be brilliant,” he adds. “We as a group need to work hard, do it on the field.
“When, in the first conversation I had with him after the appointment, he told me that he did not want me to be captain it became obvious that he would be straight talking. He is honest and fair and his experience can develop and bring on this England team so we can move forward.
“It is going to be an exciting place to be in the coming years. And I will be fighting away until those big eyebrows look at me and say: ‘Don’t bother coming anymore!’”
Labels: Australia, England, Martin Johnson, Phil Vickery
