James Horwill is poignantly trying to emulate his late friend Dan Vickerman by winning the Varsity
Former Wallaby captain James Horwill will be in the Cambridge University second row against Oxford University in the 138th Varsity match next week, a contest that marks the tenth anniversary of the late Dan Vickerman leading the light blues to victory in the famous fixture.
Horwill and Vickerman were Australia’s second row partnership at the 2011 World Cup, but Vickerman was forced to retire due to leg fracture problems a year later.
Vickerman, who played in the 2008 and 2009 varsity matches, tragically committed suicide in 2017, highlighting how many sportsmen and women struggle once their playing careers are over.
The Daniel Vickerman scholarship was established in the late lock’s memory and Horwill, studying a 20-month EMBA course at Cambridge, become its second recipient, an honour presented by his former team-mate’s wife Sarah and her two sons.
It was a particularly poignant moment as Vickerman was the person who inspired Horwill about taking a course at Cambridge once his professional playing career ended. That moment came at Twickenham in June when he scored a try as Barbarians captain against England.
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Horwill, who now returns to Twickenham on December 12 as an amateur, told RugbyPass: “I watched last year’s game, the one in which Jamie Roberts (his former Harlequins team-mate) was involved, and I had spoken at length to Dan Vickerman about his experience here (at Cambridge). The aim is to get the win ten years after Dan led Cambridge to victory.
“I’m lucky enough to be the second recipient of the scholarship. The first was Andrew Hunter a young Sydney University lock who came over and did his undergraduate degree and played for the club.
“When Dan initially moved to Australia he played for my club Queensland Uni and we played together for the Wallabies. He put the seed in my head about doing some kind of study post my rugby career.
@JHorwill receives the Dan Vickerman scholarship, presented by Sarah Vickerman and two sons along with Andrew Hunter and @flipvandermerwe.
We remember Dan Vickerman who played for the light blues 10 years ago in the 2009 Varsity Match.#varsitymatch pic.twitter.com/ZwMlnsXnZs
— The Varsity Matches (@VarsityMatches) November 27, 2019
“We talked together at the 2011 World Cup and the scholarship is something I’m very humbled to receive. To have Sarah and the kids here to present it was very special.
“The Rugby Players Association are helping players because it isn’t an easy transition, whether you are prepared or not. When you look at someone like Dan from the outside, he probably looked best prepared having taken time out to study at Cambridge to prepare for life after rugby and he still had issues.
“It’s about understanding that it is OK not to be OK and to talk about it. People are there to help and you should be thinking about this if you are 18 and just starting out or past 30 like I was and looking at options. The world of professional sport can be a fickle one and a short one. At times you don’t always decide when you finish and it is great we are bringing awareness of this fact.”
'Epic journey' and 'unbelievable adventure' are just two of many descriptions Schalk Brits has after going from retirement to World Cup glory and now back into retirement againhttps://t.co/F3rvvB4J1q
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 3, 2019
Horwill will pack down alongside former Springbok Flip van der Merwe – also 34 – in what could be the most experienced second row partnership to ever appear in a Varsity match as the players boast 99 Test caps between them.
Horwill, who captained the Wallabies 16 times in his 14-year professional career that ended at Harlequins, is currently juggling his studies with the build-up to the Varsity match and the length of this course means he could also play in 2020 alongside Schalk Brits, the Springbok World Cup-winning hooker, who is expected to start his business course next September.
“It’s pretty busy because there is a lot that goes into it off the field,” explained Horwill. “There are events and functions plus training and I knew it would be like this and you have to make it work.
The challengers! ? ??
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Say hello to the official @CURUFC Men’s line up for 12th December.??
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Who are you backing with 9 days to go? ??
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*Women’s squads coming soon?
?#VarsityMatch? pic.twitter.com/6YixKQtSDP— The Varsity Matches (@VarsityMatches) December 2, 2019
“What makes this game unique is the history of the match and some of the guys have been training for a year to play in it again. It is fast-paced and it will be about peaking at the right time.
“Our captain Stephen Leonard has done a great job and I talk when I feel that I can add value. I’m alongside Flip in the second row and we definitely feel older than everyone else which is interesting. It’s nice to have someone in the same boat!
“My course is challenging and designed to push you. It lasts 20 months and will still be running when the 2020 match takes place, but let’s get through this one first.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Ben Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
86 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
3 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to comments