Vickery declares war on ‘The Beast’
Two weeks after receiving a mauling from Mtawarira, Vickery is back in the Lions Test side for today’s third game at Ellis Park …. And he can’t wait for the action .
“I’m looking forward to this game more than any other game of my life, partly because it will certainly be my last game in a Lions jersey and because I also have something to prove to me, my team and the opposition!”
Bold words indeed, but forwards coach Warrant Gatland firmly believes Vickery will follow through on the threat to get his own back on the Springbok favourite.
“If anything,” said Gatland, “Phil will go into this game with confidence. OK, certain things happened in the scrum in the first game, but Phil has had the benefit of working out certain things that went wrong. He is a very clever rugby player, a great prop and has been able to pick up important information from his replacement in that first Test. Adam Jones figured the beast isn’t that special at all.
“There are different components that go up to being able to scrum down successfully; Phil probably had to work on a few technical things to cope with that particular opponent, but changes have been made now. He will be packing down in a totally new front row and has Simon Shaw in the second row behind him.
“Our view on what happened is more measured now; Phil had a couple of poor hits while the beast had a couple of good scrums; a few times he was able to drive in and push up rather than pushing straight from the start. It gave him a measure of control.”
Vickery has admitted to having bad days like that in the past, saying: “It has happened to every prop around the world at every level, but what’s important is that I’m going out with another chance to measure myself against the guy that did a number on me. I look forward to that.”
It really would be the highlight of his career if Vickery were to help the Lions storm to victory – so far he has been on 49 Test winning sides in a career that yielded him 77 caps.
“It would be a bit of a landmark, I’m very much looking forward to that but it’s more important to me that the Lions win for the team and not for me. We will be judged on our success or otherwise but this has been a fantastic tour from the perspective of each and every player. We really want for us to go out on a high; we want it as much for the supporters, who have been fantastic, as we do for ourselves.”
“With my hand on heart, I am very proud to be part of this group of people. It’s a weird situation really that we find ourselves 2-0 down in the series but yet we want to out again for another crack at them; I think that just about sums up the type of spirit that exists in the camp.
“It could have turned out to be a long, fretful week for everyone, but the management and the players have turned it around; the spirit in the camp has to be experienced to be believed – it really is something very special.
“I have no doubt that there is another big performance in this squad; we have had to make some changes through injury but that gives guys a chance to come in and show what they’re made of. I suppose I’m one of the big beneficiaries of that and I’m thankful that I have been given this opportunity although conscious of how it must feel for Adam (Jones) to have to go home.
“He was of immense help to me in the days after that first Test when I was obviously feeling down and I think an indication of the spirit in the camp is that I did everything to help him out when he was named in the team for last week. That’s just the way it has been with this group and we’re now looking forward securing a result for everyone, particularly those who had to return home. We will give it everything, that’s a promise.”
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