'Raging Bull' Vickery retires By Jeremy Guscott
England and Lions legend |
 I will remember Phil Vickery as an absolute warrior for England and as a player who was, for a time, the best player in the world in his position. After four neck operations, even more comebacks, 73 England caps and a World Cup triumph, the prop has finally called it quits after a quite magnificent career. He was one of the first of the young generation of props who started to break through on the international scene around the end of the last millennium. That position had always been seen as one where you didn't mature until your 30s, but he and Trevor Woodman came through, first with Gloucester and then England, to put that idea to bed. They were the new breed of mobile props and both became great England front rowers, although sadly for Trevor injury led to him retiring at the age of 29 in 2005. Despite being one of the first wave of young props, Vicks was also one of the last of the old-school players found in the modern game.  | VICKERY FACTFILE Honours: England - 73 caps,
British & Irish Lions - 5 caps Clubs: Wasps, Gloucester, Redruth, Bude Age: 34 Weight: 120kg/18st 13lb Height: 1.91m/6ft 3in |
He understood a bit about what it was like to be an amateur - remember the game didn't go pro until 1995 - and his Wasps and England team-mate Simon Shaw is probably the last of them now. Vicks had all the old-fashioned value of honour, where you played hard on the field and then went for a pint afterwards. The game is physical - there are no handbags in rugby - and it was toe to toe in the early days of his career, but Vickery could stand his ground. Before the 1999 World Cup then-England boss Sir Clive Woodward took us down to Lympstone to train with the Royal Marines. I was put in a group with Vickery and after being dropped by helicopter on the moors, we were told to get from A to B in a certain time lugging all sorts of things - tractor tyres, billy cans filled with water, logs, all that kind of stuff. I found myself carrying these billy cans but I looked round at Vickery and he was loaded up like a pack mule in a western, carrying tents, shovels, the lot. He was plodding along at the same pace as everyone else and didn't seem to be under any strain. | I immediately saw that he was one of us - he was hardcore |
I, on the other hand, was sweating away with these billy cans and was under so much stress I felt like crying. I didn't think I could go on but Vicks recognised this - I think he saw it in my eyes. I started to say: "Vicks you wouldn't mind… " and he cut me off. "I know what you're going to ask Jerry, just throw them on." I did, and it didn't seem to affect him one bit. I'll always be eternally grateful to him for that. It showed he was a real team player, dogged and determined, but as I've said he was also old-school, as he unwittingly revealed when we were playing in France. We were staying outside Paris in Versailles. The hotel had an old building, where we were staying, and a modern part. Woodward called a senior players' meeting in the modern bit in a room which, unbeknown to Vickery, overlooked the rooms we were staying in.  Vickery played in two World Cup finals for England, winning in 2003 |
Woodward had his back to the window, but we were facing him in a semicircle so could see what was happening behind him. He was busy asking us how the squad was doing when Vickery appears behind him on a balcony on the other building. He shuts the doors behind him, carefully looks around him to check no one can see him, and, satisfied the coast is clear, takes out a cigarette and lights up. Myself, Lawrence Dallaglio and Jason Leonard were absolutely killing ourselves but Woodward had no idea what was so funny and Vicks got away with it. He might have enjoyed the odd crafty fag but there is no doubt he was a world-class player. I'm not an expert on front row play but anyone who remembers his struggles in the first Test against South Africa for the British and Irish Lions last summer and thinks that is a true reflection of his scrummaging ability would be well wide of the mark. Until he started to have his injuries he was world class both in the tight and around the field. He was the best player in his position in the world for a number of years up to and including the 2003 World Cup triumph and winning the World Cup is a fitting high point for such a fantastic player. | 606: DEBATE |
To come back after four neck operations shows his mental strength and drive. Those of us who played with him knew that he was physically strong, obviously, but mentally he was totally solid. His attitude was 'I'm here to do a job, let's not moan, let's get on with it' and I think that aspect of his character must have helped him when he was injured. Many players going through the same thing would probably say 'oh god, I've had enough, I can't keep going through this' but his mental strength was right up there and enabled him to get through it. I was there when he made his debut against Wales in 1998. It was right at the end of my career but I immediately saw that he was one of us, he was hardcore - he worked hard and played hard. He is more than just a world-class player and a great servant to English rugby. He is also a World Cup winner, and how many England players can say they are world champions and would also have been picked in a world XV? For a period of his career he was the best in the world and you can't wish for any more than that. Jeremy Guscott was talking to BBC Sport's James Standley. You can follow Jerry on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JeremyGuscott Archive - Vickery bulldozes over for England
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