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Retain Vickerman at all costs: Waugh
January 22, 2008
NEW South Wales captain Phil Waugh has urged Australian rugby powerbrokers to "do all they can" to retain Daniel Vickerman as the outstanding Australia lock weighs up lucrative overseas offers for 2009.
Vickerman comes off contract with the ARU at the end of this year and is being pursued by clubs in Europe and Japan offering as much as $500,000 a year.
The Wallabies vice-captain is also still considering a plan to move to England to study economics and play football at Cambridge University.
But Waugh and NSW coach Ewen McKenzie said Monday they hope Vickerman won't be lost to Australian rugby while at the peak of his powers.
"He is still growing as a player too, I think, so if he was to leave it would be a huge hole to fill," Waugh said.
"It would be disappointing to lose him, that's for sure. Certainly from my point of view and the players' point of view we are pushing very hard to the guys making the decisions to do everything they can to keep him."
South African-born Vickerman, 28, has played 48 Tests and is now a vital figure at the set-piece and in loose play for Australia and the Waratahs.
NSW particularly felt the absence of Vickerman's aggression and nous last season when he sat out the Super 14 after a shoulder reconstruction.
"He has so much more football in him. I think he's still developing as a leader and really hope he is going to stay," McKenzie said.
"For me he is one of our premier players, one of our world-class players. I've made that point (to the ARU) and I think that's understood. We're doing everything we can to keep him. We always have to work within budgets, but he is a realistic guy and understands those dynamics."
Vickerman is undoubtedly in a position of power in negotiations with the ARU, who provide the bulk of contract money on top of a NSW base salary. His value in Europe is heightened by the fact he holds a South African passport and would be regarded as a "Kolpak" (non-foreign) player.
The 204cm giant will only be 32 at the next World Cup, still younger than powerhouse English pair Ben Kay (33) and Simon Shaw (34) were in the 2007 tournament.
And with threadbare depth in the second row - and tight five in general - incoming Wallabies coach Robbie Deans will no doubt be keen to make his position known to the ARU.
Vickerman said Monday he was still uncertain about his future, and would make a decision "in due course".
"There are a few things out there, I am weighing things up ... those decisions are always tough," Vickerman said.