Vickersdelighted by flying Falcons
Sports Writer WHEN you have been in rugby as long as Rob Vickers has, there are bit many firsts left to savour.
After 12 seasons in the front row, the 36-year-old is used to the scrapping and snarling at the bottom of the pile.
This season, however, he is enjoying a new experience – life at the top end of the Premiership.
He said: “I am an old fart, I am in I suppose the twilight of my career now.
“The bit which makes this year so satisfying, though, is the fact there are so many players from those struggle years who are still playing.
“We had a number of years lower down the league and last year was a really good step in the right direction.
“This year we are continuing that progress, which is really rewarding for the hard work a number of the players in this team have put in.”
A one-club man with more than 250 appearances in Falcons’ black, the prop is better placed than most to discuss the joys and struggles of life at Kingston Park.
Given Newcastle have finished in either 11th or 12th place six times during his previous 11 seasons, Vickers has seen more lows than highs.
Yet with director of rugby Dean Richards and head coach Dave Walder leading the best squad at the club in years, things are heading in the right direction.
It is a marked change from much of the past decade and for Vickers the years of strife have made the current upturn in fortunes all the sweeter.
He added: “The big thing is to understand the evolution of the team.
“Initially we needed players and those players then had the boots, they started to win and then you start to get more players who want to win.
“If you look through the team, there are a number of players who have been here for a lot of years and have been through the difficult times and come out the other side.
“That for me is the most rewarding thing – it is not where we are now, it is the people who have got us here and a number of those people have proved their worth.”
As well as referring to front-row colleagues Scott Lawson, Jon Welsh and Sam Lockwood all pushing him on, Vickers believes the culture at the club is shifting towards one of winning consistently.
He pointed to the leadership of captain Will Welch as the key ‘driver’ of the Newcastle’s Rob Vickers Falcons’ ascent, adding: “I feel like he is earning the reward with this team for everything he has put in emotionally, physically and the way he leads this team.” The 36-year-old also credited the influence of imports like Toby Flood, Vereniki Goneva and “heartbeat of the team” Calum Green for “setting a new standard” - and thinks there is still more to come from the group. He added: “In the dressing room, the overriding emotion is let’s keep going, let’s keep working hard and improving and let’s see how far this group of players can go.” The club moved up to fifth in the table after Friday’s 29-12 victory over Bath and are also in the quarter-finals of the European Challenge Cup and the semi-finals of the Anglo-Welsh Cup. Vickers was granted a testimonial year by the club earlier in the season and he is enjoying this season. He added he has not set an expectation for what the club achieve this year, preferring just to focus on what the Falcons can control. The Falcons are in line to record their first top-six finish since 2002, although just seven points separate third from eighth in a tightly-congested league. They face trips to Harlequins and Gloucester next.