Vickery speaks on Raging Bull, Geech, being treated as an adult and that Lions Test match.

You’ll be hard pressed to find someone who didn’t think the third British & Irish Lions Test match a couple of months ago was as magnificent as it was fully deserved. Not to mention sorely needed for the global perception of the Lions concept to continue strongly.

Whenever you talk of battles being fought on the rugby pitch, grizzled old front rowers usually point to the scrummage and those on the front lines as where it all happens and ‘a game within a game’, whilst most others look on perplexed. After that first test in Durban, there was definitely no shortage of column inches dedicated to Phil Vickery’s tough day at the office at the hands of Tendai Mtawarira. Vickery shared his thoughts on that fateful day, during a product launch of his new Raging Bull leisurewear range and website.

“It was pretty tough after that first test, probably one of the lowest points in my rugby career. But that’s life, you just have to get on with it. I always make it a point to go over and shake people's hands after a match, regardless of what's happened, I always want to take the high ground. So as soon as I saw the ref after the first test, I wanted to go over and shake his hand. I remember going over and seeing him back off a little bit when he saw me! Not sure what he thought I was going to do even after that nightmare Test. I remember having a really good chat with him after the final Test in the bar. He was telling me how he thinks he actually got a few things wrong in Durban. Funnily enough it was a bit late for that by then, but that’s life.”

Vickery on the charge

There were whispers from some of the fiercest critics as to whether the Englishman would ever wear a white jersey again. Naturally it was all sensationalist media-speak but fate had other things in store for the England prop.

“The sad thing is, it was all because of Adam and Gethin getting injured. I was in the doctor's room after the Second Test, and there was Adam hunched over on one side, two or three people trying to jerk his arm back into place while he was screaming in pain. Gethin on the other side with deep compression fractures to the faces looking like John Merrick. Pretty horrific stuff. The circumstances might not have been great but I ended up getting my opportunity in the third Test, and it was good to finish the tour on a high.”

When contemplating the similarities between the 2005 and 2009 Lions tours, it’d probably take as long as Austin Healey takes to find a new media outlet to list them. One thing that seemed clear from the outside was that camaraderie was strong from the start.

“The whole tour was full on, you have guys playing on the Wednesday, on the Saturday, all of us travelling all over the place. It gets to the point where although we're only together for 7 or 8 weeks, it feels like you've been together for a year because so much happens and you have to break down so many barriers in such a short time. Everyone buys into it and it just speeds the whole process up.”

With Stephen Jones after the Third Test victory

Vickery is unsurprisingly full of praise for his former Wasps Director of Rugby, unquestionably one of the legends of Lions rugby.

“Whatever anyone says about Geech, he's a top guy, a bloody nice bloke. If you get people questioning his selections, you have to remember that we could all pick a Lions squad, and we’d all end up with a different group of players, but when you select players, you sometimes have to look at the person. There's a reason why he's picked; it's not just about rugby, it's about what that guy could bring to the party, and that’s what Geech did.”

As opposed to 2005 when Sir Clive Woodward attempted to replicate his success with England on the Lions concept, forcing as much professionalism and control as possible into the tour, McGeechan allowed players far more latitude and looked to infuse the tour with the amateur ethos, one that made his last tour to South Africa in 1997 such a success.

“Just because you're pro, doesn't mean you have to starve people of what makes them feel good. How do you get the best out of people? By getting the right balance. The nice thing about a Lions tour with Geech and Gerald in charge was that with them, you don't have to be things like completely teetotal. If someone wants to have a drink, a glass of wine, a meal, wants to go see family, then that’s fine. As long as you do your training, prep work, play well they had no problems. We were basically treated like adults. Why should it be different to regular working life? That's what Geech does, he trusts you to do the right thing. Everyone respected him for that, and respected the rules and what was expected of us. It wasn't like being in a classroom and treated like kids. It was nice and refreshing to deal with people who wanted the best for you.”

And the social side of things?

“What Geech made a conscious effort to do was to get all the commercial stuff out the way as early as possible in the week before we went away. He wanted to try and do everything early, so that afterwards we could focus on the rugby as much as we could. I remember we had had a long day, with lots of publicity and press stuff going on. After we finally got back, everyone was knackered, and we were scheduled to leave at seven the next morning to go sailing for team bonding. I was rooming with Donncha [O’Callaghan]I think it was, we got a text saying that it was cancelled and we'd just be in the bar having a drink, thinking it was a wind up. Funny thing was it ended up being true, and we all ended up in the bar that night. Without wanting to knock team building exercises, but a glass of beer, the whole lot of us chatting, getting to know each other was fantastic. By the end of the night, bearing in mind this was on day three or four, everybody had had such a good time, got to know each other really well that the next day we were all set and ready to go.”

Vickery with Ian McGeechan

With the 2009 Lions tour over, attentions in England were soon drawn to the new club season as well as the upcoming Autumn Internationals. After a torrid time last November, with a few heavy defeats particularly against South Africa and New Zealand, England ended up improving with every passing week in the Six Nations, managing to finish the competition in second place. Positives from the competition ranged from top try scorers with sixteen and the second best defense, to a solitary lineout lost in five matches and a host of other positive statistics. Things continued to improve steadily with a big win against Argentina at home, followed by a narrow two-point loss away in Salta, with a horde of new caps on display. The focus is now on the Autumn Internationals and Team Manager Martin Johnson’s second year in charge.

“I think England rugby is moving in the right direction.” Vickery said “We're perhaps not as high up the ladder at the moment as we would like that's for sure, but things are definitely coming into place. After the last few years, we had had so many players and coaching changes. It was all over the place for a few years. I remember Graham Simmons asking me after the World cup in 2007, what was the one thing I wanted for English rugby? I replied 'stability', and then what happens? A week later Brian Ashton was sacked.”

“You need to have that continuity, there needs to be a plan in place. Fair enough if that plan doesn't end up working, then change it, but that's what Johnno has implemented so far and that's what I think will continue to happen.”

It’s no surprise that the new EPS policy introduced last year has been a talking point in clubhouses up and down the country. Why bother naming a squad of 30-odd players months before any real rugby has been played? Madness surely? Whilst Vickery admits the problem and that things aren’t ideal, in some ways it’s necessary.

“The thing is, from the club's point of view, if they don't know who's going to be in the EPS, how do they plan, how can they sign players or cover, how do they know where they’re going if they don’t know who’ll be missing with England. I know that everyone involved at Wasps desperately want England to do well, but it's not just about rugby any more, it's a business and not as easy as people think to implement a system. I'm not sure what the answer is, unfortunately it's always going to be a problem.”

Vickery during the 2007 World Cup - photo by PKimages

Most of the press at the end of last season were busy getting themselves all worked up at transfer developments and soon you couldn’t open a rugby news page without seeing the word EXODUS written in big black letters. With high profile England players like Riki Flutey, James Haskell, Tom Palmer, Jamie Noon and Jonny Wilkinson all moving across the Channel to ply their trade in France, many feared the damage something like that might cause to the English and England game.

“If you offer players, two three, four times as much money as they could potentially earn here in England, if you could live by the beach in France and enjoy the change in culture, then I don't blame them really. I'm not really sure what we can do about it to be honest. Some guys might do it for the money, some guys just want a different experience and to try something new. With someone like James Haskell, who we were all disappointed to see leave, I know Lawrence certainly thought he would go on to do great things at Wasps and for England as well. We still hope he can achieve great things with England, it's just disappointing he won't do it as a Wasp.”

One thing remains clear however, that Johnson’s foreign policy seems a lot more open minded and relaxed than some other coaches including Warren Gatland in Wales. Vickery sees sense in his team manager’s thinking:

“As long as you can be available for the days you're needed in England, Johnno doesn’t have any issues with it at all. If you're playing well you're playing well. It shouldn't be an issue where your workplace is. I spoke to Riki recently and he was saying how his club were very positive about England and very pro-active and making sure he can attend all the training sessions.”

During the launch of Raging Bull's new range of leisurewear

Vickery has worn the shirts of Gloucester, Wasps, England and the Lions. What does the man born in Barnstaple consider the best moments of his career, up until now?

“Surviving the 2007 World Cup press conferences was definitely one of my highest points of my rugby career! To be fair there's been a few. I think the best one would be from a personal point of view, playing France in the semi final a couple of years ago, at the Stade de France. To beat France that day in the way that we did, was probably the greatest feeling I've ever had. It's just a shame we couldn't quite hold it together in the Final, but credit to everyone on that trip. The physio room were off their feet working 24/7 but it ended up just being a game too far for us unfortunately.”

When it comes to rugby kit, Vickery is more well versed than most in this area, and one question that crops up every so often, is how difficult is it for front row players to grip and bind on their opposite numbers? Does the now ubiquitous tight-fitting jersey represent a problem?

“Definitely. 100%. It's a real problem and in some games it’s virtually impossible to bind properly on the arm of your opposite number, there’s nothing to grip onto. I would love to know what sort of performance enhancement a tight-fitted rugby shirt gives players in the tight five. I can understand for the backs, the steppers and runners, fair enough but what advantage it gives us guys, I’ve no idea.”

With the rugby out of the way, Vickery is actually here to launch his brand new leisure and sportswear range of Raging Bull clothing, as well as the new-look website. Raging Bull’s new season collection includes new designs across Vickery’s sportswear and casual capsules, including his flagship signature rugby jersey, brushed hoody, new long sleeve rugby and sweat pants too. The website incorporates all-new Spin Me photo-technology, which allows customers to view clothing in 360 degrees and zone-in on the attention to style, detail and quality fabrics used.

“Raging Bull is something which has grown over the years, getting bigger and bigger. Starting a new brand is never easy, especially if you're coming up against the bigger names, but it's definitely growing. We’re getting the stuff in more and more shops, more teams are wearing it, it’s great and a lot of work's gone into it from many different people. Raging Bull is definitely something that I'd like to believe will be around for a long time, as a long term future for me when I eventually decide I can't do the rugby playing anymore. It's working for us and will hopefully continue for a long time.”

www.ragingbull.co.uk

Look out for Unofficial England Rugby’s Autumn Internationals Prediction League that’s coming soon, where you’ll get the chance to test your rugby intuition and win some Raging Bull kit!