Phil Vickery (rugby player)

Philip John Vickery MBE (born 14 March 1976) is an English rugby union footballer who plays prop for Wasps and England, and was part of the England side that won the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He is currently England captain, having taken over from Martin Corry The son of a farmer, Vickery was born to Cornish parents in Barnstaple, Devon, but says he is proud to be a Cornishman.^[1].

Career

He started with the Cornish club Bude, then moved to Redruth, during which time he first appeared in an England Colts side. He graduated to Gloucester, where he became known as "The Raging Bull". In April 2006 he announced he was quitting Gloucester after 11 years and signed for Wasps in a 3 year deal. Vickery made his Wasps debut in their 23 - 13 win over London Irish on 8 October 2006.

Representative Career

He made his England debut against Wales aged 21 on 21 February 1998, replacing Darren Garforth. It was the completion of a rapid rise through the England set-up, after only 34 first team games for his club and just 81 days after his England A debut. He recovered from a neck injury in April 1999 and played in that year’s Rugby World Cup. A shoulder injury, however, kept him out of the 2000 South Africa tour. Vickery toured Australia with the British and Irish Lions in 2001 and played in all three tests. Vickery was appointed captain of the England squad that toured Argentina in 2002. With many of the top players rested, Vickery led the side to victory against The Pumas in Buenos Aires. Vickery missed the 2003 Six Nations tournament because of a back injury, but having returned to the team he did well for England on the road to the 2003 World Cup. He played in all seven games in the tournament and captained the side against Uruguay. He scored his first international try when he came off the bench against Samoa in England’s third game of the tournament. A rib injury prevented him from captaining the non capped match against the New Zealand Barbarians in December 2003. Although he took a full part in the 2004 Six Nations, another back operation in May ruled him out of the summer tour to New Zealand and Australia. He returned to rugby only in late October 2004. Making his international comeback, he came on as a replacement against South Africa for the first Autumn Test between the two sides on 18th November 2006. After playing well, he drove over to score the winning try, which was converted by Andy Goode, and England won their first game since February that month. He was selected on January 2 by new England Head Coach Brian Ashton to captain the side during the 2007 Six Nations and 2007 Rugby World Cup.

References

1. ^ The Independent on Vickery

External links

• England profile
• London Cornish RFC
• Planet-rugby
• sporting heroes Phil Vickery photo 1 by sportingheroes.net
• sporting heroes Phil Vickery photo 2 by sportingheroes.net
• Profile at scrum.com
• Vickery's range of clothing