Vickers kicking on for more success

Australian coach’s diligence pays off for Saracens, writes Charlie Morgan

Saracens use an acronym to reinforce the importance of unglamorous graft. “TSPDS” stands for “The S--- People Don’t See”. Dan Vickers, their long-time kicking coach, is like a pig in that s---. The Australian, in his 13th year and second role at the club, relishes the subtler contributions.

“For a large proportion of rugby, the ball is in the air,” says Vickers (right), who joined Saracens from Bath as a physio in the summer of 2006 before Brendan Venter created a coaching slot for him four years later.

“What’s going on in that time, where people are and what they are doing, is something

you can train. You might think I stand there and boot the ball back to Owen Farrell all day as a kicking coach. That’s probably 15 per cent of my job.”

Dovetailing with Mark Mccall’s other lieutenants, Vickers has a remit that touches the various aspects of kicking that govern the modern game. At the business end of another successful season, kicking is once more proving to be a major ingredient of Saracens’ excellence.

During a 44-19 thrashing of Gloucester in the Premiership semi-final, they put boot to ball 32 times. Saracens won the ball back directly eight times, and recovered kicks led to two of their six tries. “Kicking can be considered as unsexy,” Vickers continues. “I don’t want to fool anyone – what people find sexy is up to them! It’s about highlighting that what kicking can give you can be sexy.

“Off-the-ball effort is a slice of selflessness. People look at tries and big hits. We want to have a culture that celebrates unseen things. That has to be the lifeblood of your kicking game.”

Ahead of today’s play-off final against Exeter Chiefs at Twickenham, Vickers admits that his charges have given him a satisfying few months.

At the end of Vickers’s first season since becoming kicking coach, Saracens lost to Leicester in the 2010 Premiership final. They would avenge that 33-27 defeat against the same opponents 12 months later.

Australian Rules football has been one fertile source of ideas, with Saracens forging a relationship with AFL outfit Hawthorn Hawks.

Saracens seem at the cutting edge and at the top of their game, thanks in no small part to the quiet diligence that Vickers has helped to instil.