Daniel Joseph Vickerman (4 June 1979 – 18 February 2017) was a professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. The 204 cm, 119 kg

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

played 63 Tests with the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

, the national team of his adopted country of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. After seven seasons with the Wallabies, and having played

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

for the New South Wales Waratahs and

ACT Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005–2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the brumby, feral horses whi ...

, Vickerman left his successful international rugby career in 2008. He attended the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where he read a degree in Land Economy at Hughes Hall. While in England, he played rugby for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

. In 2011, he returned to Australia and played again for the Wallabies, including at the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

, before he retired from the game.

Early life

Vickerman was born in South Africa and played his early rugby in South Africa. He attended Bishops College in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

and played for their First XV. When he was 17 he spent a year in England playing for Cheltenham Colts (under 19) where he would play with, amongst others,

Peter Buxton Peter Buxton (born 21 August 1978, in Cheltenham) is a former rugby union footballer who played flanker for Gloucester Rugby. Buxton signed for Gloucester Rugby from Newport RFC in 2002. He has gone on to make many appearances for the club ...

who himself went on to have a successful professional career, most notably with Premiership club

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

. Vickerman and Buxton took a year out together to visit and play rugby for the

University of Queensland Rugby Club The University of Queensland Rugby Club is an Australian rugby club, based at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Queensland. They currently compete in the Queensland Premier Rugby competition. They were formed in 1911, as rugby was adopte ...

, Australia. This started Vickerman on the path to representing Australia, first at Under 21 level. After representing South Africa at Under-21 level in 1999, Vickerman arrived in Australia the following year and played for Australia at the 2000 SANZAR-UAR Under-21 tournament.

Rugby career

In 2001, Vickerman was contracted by the Brumbies and made his debut that season in a Super 12 match against the

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorp ...

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. He played a total of seven Super 12 games that season. In 2002, he was selected to play for Australia A in Canada that year. He went on to make his test debut that year in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in a match against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Vickerman became a regular for the Wallabies in 2003, either as a starter or off the bench. He signed with the Waratahs for the 2004 season. Vickerman was a replacement in all the domestic Wallaby tests in 2004, but became the starting lock on the end of year tour to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

. In 2006 he started in all but one match for the Waratahs who made it to the finals of the 2006 Super 14 season. He was subsequently named in John Connolly's Wallaby squad. Later that season he injured his shoulder and underwent reconstruction surgery in November 2006. Although missing most of the 2007 Super 14 season through injury recovery, Vickerman returned to the Test scene in a test match against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

coming off the bench, and cemented his place back in the Wallaby starting line up for the Wallabies

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...

squad. Vickerman raised his 50th Test cap against Wales during the 2007 World Cup, but managed just three appearances during the 2008 international because of another shoulder injury he sustained in the 2008 Super 14 final. In the autumn of 2008 Vickerman left Australia for England to study at Cambridge University, where he read Land Economy for three years. He played for

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

in the 2008

Varsity Match A varsity match is a fixture (especially of a sporting event or team) between two university teams, particularly Oxford and Cambridge. The Scottish Varsity rugby match between the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh at Murrayf ...

. The following year, he combined his studies with a renewed professional career at

. He signed a one-year deal in May 2009 to play with Northampton in the Guinness Premiership for the 2009–10 season, but arranged to delay his arrival with the team until after the 2009

in December, in which he captained

to a 31–27 victory over eternal rival

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. His first match for the Saints was against

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...

on 7 March 2010. Vickerman returned to Australia in 2011 to play again for the Waratahs and press his claims for national selection. He was chosen in the Wallabies team which won the 2011 Tri Nations Series and claimed third place at the

. A persistent injury problem with stress fractures in the tibia of his right leg forced his retirement from the game in 2012. He worked for the

Rugby Union Players' Association The Rugby Union Players' Association (RUPA) is the representative body for professional rugby union players in Australia. It was formed in October 1995 in response to the professionalism of rugby. As soon as a player signs a Rugby contract in A ...

after his retirement.

Death

Vickerman died on the night of 18 February 2017 at his

home, at the age of 37. The cause of death was confirmed as suicide. He was survived by his wife and two young children.

Reference list

External links

ESPN Stats – Dan Vickerman Test matches
* *
2003 RWC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vickerman, Daniel 1979 births 2017 suicides Alumni of Hughes Hall, Cambridge Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England ACT Brumbies players Northampton Saints players Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players New South Wales Waratahs players Alumni of Diocesan College, Cape Town Rugby union locks South African emigrants to Australia South African rugby union players South African expatriate sportspeople in England Sportspeople from Cape Town Expatriate rugby union players in England Rugby union players from Cape Town