The thuggish england world cup winner Phil Vickery has been named as Lions captain for tomorrows "warm up" game against Western Province in Cape town.
It is surprising to read that coach Ian McGeechan chose the former england captain to lead the Lions as a "just reward for a thoroughly professional player". Vickery was yellow carded against the Sharks on Wednesday just minutes after being brought onto the field for foul play and was forced watch the remainder of the match from the sidelines. (luckily his seat was still nice and warm for him)The northern hemisphere often label the Springboks as "dirty" players for their massively physical style of rugby, but they overlook their own thugs. Vickery failed as captain of England in the past and has no skill at this position for his club London Wasps. Why then has McGeechan chosen this player over the likes of Martyn Williams who captained Wales from 2002 to 2005, the culmination of which was a Grand Slam Six Nations victory for Wales. The simple answer to that would be, that McGeechan and Vickery are big chums who work together at London Wasps. Surely a captain should be chosen on his ability and composure. Vickery is in the twighlight of his career and is probably the weekest of the front row forwards on tour. Looking through the list of current successful international captain's we see the likes of John Smit (South Africa), Richie McCaw (New Zealand), Ryan Jones (Wales) and Brian o'Driscol (Ireland); all of whom carry themselves well on the field. They set examples to their team with their ability, attitude and composure.The easily frustrated Vickey however has a history of loosing his temper and cheating (his infamous citing after tripping an USA center Paul Emerick during a tight pool match at the RWC 2007), if he starts loosing at scrum time get ready to see some dirty play. Selecting Vickery as captain could sully the name of the British and Irish Lions as he will no doubt be an embarrassment to these four great rugby nations.
MM
No comments:
Post a Comment