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'There is obviously something wrong' - Vickery warns Gloucester must rediscover their identity after Ackermann exit

By Chris Jones
Phil Vickery (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

As Gloucester begin their search for a new coaching set-up following Johan Ackermann’s departure for Japan, former captain Phil Vickery is urging the club to rediscover their unique identity and heritage.
Vickery spent 11 years at Gloucester in a career that saw him win 73 England caps and play in five Lions tests and despite having last appeared in the famous Cherry and White colours in 2006, the fortunes of the Gallagher Premiership outfit are still a factor in his life.

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“I am shopping in Tesco still getting grief from the fans but that is what I first fell in love with when I came here from Cornwall,” explained Vickery who was Gloucester captain in 2001-02 when they won the Zurich Championship and has carved out a successful career away from rugby, launching the Raging Bull clothing line and now a restaurant in Cheltenham while also holding the title of deputy Lord-Lieutenant of Gloucestershire.

“Gloucester has a beautiful rough edge and people really care about the rugby club and that is wonderful so use that as a positive. With Johan going I wonder about how you get that continuity and the next appointment is going to be very important. It is a good chance to map out the future of the club and where it is going and who wouldn’t want an amazing opportunity to map out the future of Gloucester rugby club?

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“You have to ask what is Gloucester’s identity? All successful teams like Leicester, Bath and Saracens all had their own identity and you cannot keep reinventing a new Gloucester – you are what you are. You have to stay true to yourself and build on that heritage to move forward regardless of who comes in

“The Gloucester squad is as strong as any in the Premiership and Jonny May is back to join some real talent but the team has not been playing particularly well. What is the next cycle going to be? Will it be the same old, same old here we go again? It’s a shame because it seems as if you have to press the reset button again. It is about the tradition of what Gloucester rugby is about and moving it into that new era and you can build from a fantastic heritage.

“There is obviously something wrong and the area of concern for me that we don’t repeat what happened when Philippe Saint-Andre left (in 2002) and so did players with allegiance to him. What is then left behind? The club needs to look at that and learn from it because you cannot have everything hanging on a coach.”

Just like the club he loves, Vickery, the World Cup winning former England captain, faces a major challenge by opting to launch his first restaurant in the middle of a global pandemic. The 2011 Celebrity MasterChef champion has opted to delay his restaurant opening – called No3 after his playing number – and restrict his latest offering to a takeaway service but is committed to making his latest venture another success. ”This has been in the offing for a long time,” added Vickery. “This is a fantastic opportunity. Then COVID-19 comes along and we could either feel sorry for ourselves or do something to get the brand out there.

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“It’s the springer-spaniel in me, wanting to get on the front foot and be positive.”

The 44-year-old, who has an oriental tattoo on his left shoulder which translates to “I’ll fight you to the death”, and a bulldog tattoo on his right, has a successful clothing company Raging Bull – his rugby nickname – and is a long-time supporter of Wooden Spoon, the rugby charity. At the heart of his many passions is rugby and Vickery believes the sport is at a crossroads and decisions made now will have a significant impact on the game’s future.

He said: “What concerns me more than anything is the impact on what is happening on the majority of the game. This is the time to look at what rugby will look like in the future, particularly at the grassroots where clubs are struggling at senior level. We have to look at the bigger picture and we need to think about how we keep the fantastic values of rugby alive. With playing numbers going down we need a mindset change to engage more people.”

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J
Jon 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

39 Go to comments
A
Adrian 12 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

39 Go to comments
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