Dan Vickerman set to make shock Wallabies return
Dan Vickerman set to make shock Wallabies return
- Bret Harris and Wayne Smith
- From: The Australian
- August 13, 2010 12:00AM
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One of the world’s premier second-rowers, Dan Vickerman will return to Australia next year. Picture: Brett Costello Source: The Australian
FORMER Wallabies Test second-rower Dan Vickerman is to return to Australia next year.
The news dramatically increases the Wallabies' chances of winning next year's World Cup in New Zealand.
ARU chief executive John O'Neill will announce today Vickerman will be available for Australia's 2011 Tri-Nations campaign and the World Cup.
A veteran of 52 Tests since his debut in 2002, Vickerman developed into one of the premier second-rowers in the world.
But the South African-born Vickerman left his successful international career in 2008 to study economics at Cambridge University, captaining the team to victory against Oxford University in the annual varsity match at Twickenham last December.
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans has been anxious to lure Vickerman back to the Wallabies and has remained in contact with him.
Vickerman, 31, has also missed playing Test rugby and was keen to play in his third World Cup.
He will complete his studies next June, which will give him time to play some games in the expanded Super 15 with his former team, NSW Waratahs.
It is understood Vickerman will sign to play with the Waratahs in 2012, which will guarantee his eligibility for the Wallabies next year.
Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom played in last year's Tri-Nations after returning from Ireland without playing for an Australian province that year, but was contracted to the Brumbies for this year's campaign.
Vickerman had intended to combine his studies with playing professionally for English club Northampton, but Cambridge would not allow him to do so.
The ARU will provide Vickerman with a fitness program to ensure that he arrives back in shape to play professional rugby at the highest level.
Like Elsom's return from Irish province Leinster, Vickerman's return is a major fillip for the Wallabies who have not beaten the All Blacks in their past nine Tests.
If Vickerman can recapture anything close to his previous form, he would be a wonderful addition to the World Cup squad.
At 204cm and 119kg, Vickerman would provide Australia's forward pack with enormous physical presence.
With him in the pack, the Wallabies could match up physically with any team in the world, including the All Blacks and the Springboks.
Vickerman has the lineout expertise to compete with Springbok lock Victor Matfield and the physicality and aggression to win the collisions at the contact zone.
Australia's performance in the set pieces and its defence, especially in the tight play, would be markedly improved by Vickerman.
Perhaps just as importantly, the other Wallabies forwards will gain confidence from playing alongside Australia's most dominant tight forward.
With Vickerman at Cambridge and Queenslander James Horwill on the sideline, the Wallabies have appeared vulnerable at times in the second row this year.
But their return will turn the second row into a position of strength for the Wallabies.
Apart from one poor game against the All Blacks in Melbourne, veteran second-rower Nathan Sharpe has been in outstanding from this year, while rookie Rob Simmons is emerging as a genuine Test lock.
The presence of Dean Mumm and Mark Chisholm would add to the Wallabies' depth in the second row.
Vickerman was born in Cape Town and represented South Africa under-21s in 1999 before moving to Australia and playing for the Australian under-21s the following year.
After playing for the Canberra-based Brumbies from 2001 to 2003, Vickerman joined the Waratahs and stayed in Sydney until he left for Cambridge.
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Vickerman fears: I could be a flop
Vickerman fears: I could be a flop
* Bret Harris
* From: The Australian
* August 14, 2010 12:00AM
DAN Vickerman admits he is nervous about making a comeback to Australian rugby next year.
But his uneasiness is balanced by the excitement of playing for the Wallabies in a third World Cup campaign.
A veteran of 55 Tests, Vickerman has not played professionally since leaving Australia in 2008 to continue his economics studies at Cambridge University in England.
His last game for the Wallabies was the 27-15 win against South Africa in Durban.
But Vickerman will return to Australia next June just in time to play a couple of games for NSW in the Super 15 competition to press his claims for a place in Australia's Tri-Nations and World Cup squads.
"It's going to be difficult. I'm under no illusions about that," Vickerman conceded at ARU headquarters in Sydney yesterday to announce his re-signing until the end of 2013.
"The game progresses and when you are not involved it's difficult to know where you are at.
"There's always the chance I could be a flop. You never know. I'm a bit nervous, but I know what's required to get into a position to hopefully be selected."
Vickerman has not been out of rugby completely. He has played for Cambridge, captaining the team to victory over Oxford University in the annual varsity match at Twickenham last December.
But it is not the same as packing down for the Waratahs or the Wallabies.
"Cambridge is a unique place. It's been great fun," he said. "I enjoy playing rugby. That's been a massive part of my life.
"I do miss it and hopefully I'm able to get back and put myself in a position to play some good rugby again."
Vickerman will turn 32 just before he turns out for the Waratahs in the second-last round of the Super 15, but will be refreshed following his long absence from high intensity rugby.
And he will be in good shape if he follows a fitness program designed by the ARU.
"Being out of the game for a while is sort of catch 22," Vickerman said. "It might prolong your career, but there are good players coming through.
"I'm pretty excited by it. If the mind is right and the body is OK, you can go as long as you want. Brad Thorn (35-year-old All Black second rower) is a good example.
"I've just got to work hard between now and then. Complete the studies and then hopefully put my hat in the ring for selection."
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans was confident Vickerman could recapture the form that made him one of the world's best second-rowers.
Deans said Vickerman had the experience and intelligence to bring himself up to date with the game. "He is a competitor," Deans said. "He loves his area. The lineout. He is a student of the lineout.
"And he loves, as you have to, the brutal nature of Test rugby.
"He would have been out of it for a while, but the mind doesn't change.
"It's about getting back on the saddle and getting on with it."
Vickerman believes the Wallabies are heading in the right direction under Deans.
If Vickerman is at his best, the Wallabies' chances of winning the World Cup will increase dramatically.
"To have a great team, the experts tell me, you need five or six world 15 players," ARU chief executive John O'Neill said. "Dan in his peak form is in that sort of category.
"You have to make a lot of assumptions and speculate he will get back to that level.
"If he does, he'll provide a real point of difference."
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