Vickery is a Warrior
Comments
0
Worcester Warriors have made a statement of intent by signing former England captain Phil Vickery as the newist member of the coaching team.
In the next seaosn of Aviva Premiership rugby Vickery will be the assistant forward coach at Sixways, with Nigel Redman the new forwards coach.
Head coach Richard Hill is getting his backroom staff in order well ahead of the start of the new season.
Vickery, who played for his country on 73 occasions and was a member of the 2003 Rugby World Cup winning squad in Australia, enjoyed a glittering playing career.
The 36-year-old played club rugby at Gloucester for 11 years, after being persuaded to move to Kingsholm as a 19-year-old by current Worcester head coach Hill, before a successful spell at London Wasps ahead of his retirement due to injury in 2010.
Given the nickname 'Raging Bull', Vickery played in three World Cups, including as England captain in the 2007 tournament, and toured Australia and South Africa with the British & Irish Lions.
Vickery said: "I'm delighted to be taking up this role with the Warriors. Since I retired I've had the chance to try out a variety of new projects and I look forward to continuing to develop these areas, but rugby has always been my first love and I've kept in close touch with the game.
"I know Hilly well from my Gloucester days and I've worked with Phil Larder and Nigel Redman before, so it's a coaching team I feel very comfortable joining. Throughout my career I've always been driven to succeed, and with the Premiership being as competitive as ever it is important that everybody at Worcester pulls together to keep moving the club up the table.
"I'm looking forward to joining up with the boys for pre-season and having a positive impact on the club."
Head coach Richard Hill is delighted to be reunited with Vickery and added: "I coached Phil at Gloucester at the start of his career and we have kept in touch with him ever since so I know him very well and exactly what he will bring to Warriors.
"Phil's reputation in the game goes before him and he will give us huge technical knowledge and ability in the scrum, having only recently finished playing at the very highest level. We have a number of props at the club to develop and he will help enormously.
"His general game understanding is also excellent and we expect him to have an impact in other areas and the way we attack and defend.
"Phil's attitude is simply superb; he demands excellence and is a winner. When we first spoke he wanted to know what were Worcester’s ambitions, were we determined, once and for all, to move up the league and be a powerful force in English rugby."
ADVERTISEMENT
