Vickerman club move a boost for both Waratahs and Wallabies
Vickerman club move a boost for both Waratahs and Wallabies
Rupert Guinness
February 1, 2011
Dan Vickerman has re-emerged as a World Cup chance for the Wallabies after revealing he will join English club Northampton to play top-level rugby again as soon as possible.
Vickerman, who has been playing for the lower-tier Cambridge University side since moving there in 2008 to study, announced late last year that he would return to Australia in early June.
The second-rower's plan is to earn his place back in the Wallabies by rejoining the Waratahs and playing in their last rounds of the Super Rugby season.
But several hurdles have stood in the 55-Test veteran's way. Foremost was uncertainty at age 31 of regaining the fitness and intensity he needed while playing for Cambridge.
That he has only recently recovered from an operation on his shin to repair a stress fracture also heightened concerns that he might have further limited the time available to reach that level.
However, the Waratahs yesterday confirmed Vickerman was doing light running and that he hoped to be playing for Northampton by March. At best, he could play 12 top-league matches before returning to the Waratahs - Northampton's final six rounds of the Aviva Premiership and three finals games should they go all the way as well the Heineken Cup which they are currently at the quarter-finals stage.
''That's a really good level of rugby to play at before he comes back,'' Waratahs coach Chris Hickey told the Herald last night.
''It will give him really good match conditioning. And we hope that when he does arrive back here, he will be all ready to go.''
Hickey was surprised to learn of Vickerman's plans to join Northampton.
Asked yesterday morning how strongly he banked on Vickerman being ready to play for NSW, Hickey said: ''To get someone of his experience back at that stage of the season could be really beneficial, but we really look at him as a bonus rather than as someone you are counting on.''
By last night, Hickey was singing a different tune. ''It now appears that he has clarified that he will be able to play with Northampton … and he is hoping that in about six weeks time, or eight weeks time - depending on how his leg progresses with his running - that he would be in a position to be able to play.
''All the reports we have say that's progressing as we would have hoped. Once he gets serious conditioning under his belt, some running and plays games, it looks positive moving to June.''
When Vickerman announced his plan to try to return to Test rugby, the news was greeted by the Australian Rugby Union and Waratahs with glee. However, Wallabies coach Robbie Deans made it clear that he, Hickey and Vickerman had all outlined the challenges that lay ahead after almost three years out of elite rugby.
A training program was devised for Vickerman to follow while at Cambridge. But it is understood that by switching to Northampton he will undergo his conditioning under the eye of Saints performance director and tough nut Nick Johnston.
