The rugby world is coming to terms with the death of former Wallaby and “gentle giant” Dan Vickerman who passed away at the weekend at his family home.
The 37-year-old arrived in Australia from South Africa in his late teens to pursue university and rugby opportunities and went on to play 63 Tests for Australia.
He gave rugby away in his prime to study at Cambridge where he led the school’s rugby team to a varsity victory over Oxford in 2009 while completing a three-year degree in Land Economy.
He was rushed back into the Wallabies side upon his return to Australia in 2011 to help beat New Zealand in Brisbane to win the Tri-Nations.
He hung up the boots for good in 2012 due to knee injuries.
“There were certain guys that you look around the changeroom and you see and you are thankful that are you running out alongside them, and Vicks was one of those guys,” ex-Waratahs skipper Phil Waugh told the Daily Telegraph.
“When you saw him there in the same playing strip as you, you had full confidence knowing he was behind you.”
At 26 and at the height of his powers, Vickerman said a chance to study at the famed university was too good to refuse.
“It was an opportunity that presented itself and going to one of the Oxbridge universities, you don’t want to look back on those types of experiences and say, ‘Geez, I wish I had of done that while I had the chance’,” Vickerman told the Daily Telegraph last year
Life after footy saw Vickerman living in Sydney and working in the property world.
He leaves behind a wife and two children.
“He was a quiet guy, with a massive heart,” Waugh said. “All of us are going to miss him dearly.”
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