Wallabies lock Dan Vickerman has apologised to teammates and vowed to clam up in Saturday’s pivotal Rugby World Cup clash with Ireland in Auckland.
Vickerman cost Australia three points, allowing Italy to go to the sheds locked at 6-all in Sunday’s opening Pool C match after back-chatting Irish referee Alain Rolland and having the penalty advanced 10 metres closer to the Wallabies’ goal posts.
Coach Robbie Deans has made it clear he won’t tolerate any players mouthing off – advice Vickerman has clearly heeded.
“From my point of view, that wasn’t good enough,” the Test veteran told reporters on Tuesday.
“The penalty was awarded fair and square and you’ve just got to deal with it and get on with it.
“I let the team down there and it’s not good enough … once a decision’s made, you deal with that and move on with the game.”
All up, the Wallabies conceded 15 penalties against the Azzurri.
“That’s not good enough either and I gave away a few of those away and in (tighter) games where penalties become an issue, it can be a lot of points that come against you,” Vickerman said.
“So we need to work on that and focus on maintaining that area of the game so that penalty goals don’t become a factor.”
Mindful of upsetting match officials, the Wallabies are saying all the right things about the referees and accepting they need to adapt better to the refereeing at the World Cup, particularly the handling of the breakdown area.
Vickerman said it was imperative players stayed on their feet at the contact area.
“That area of the game is being hotly refereed now, going off your feet at the breakdown,” he said.
“Our game definitely wasn’t being badly refereed. The penalties were there – we’ve had a look at them – I went off my feet and I wasn’t peeling out properly so it wasn’t good enough from me.
“Alain’s a great referee. He’s refereed a lot of top-notch international games so, as I said, it’s just not good enough from my point of view.
“Those were the areas that let me down – maintaining the leg drive through the contact and getting on with it.
“There’s a lot of tall blokes out there that do it effectively. I’ve just got to improve on that.”
The veteran second-rower said the Wallabies were all for the crackdown, agreeing it creates a better spectacle for fans.
“If you’re going to go into a breakdown and (you) clean someone out, you’ve got to stay on your feet rather than sealing off the ball,” he said.
“If you can go in with that mindset and make sure you clean out past the ball on your feet, then it negates bodies on the ground and the game’s able to flow.
“So it comes with the players taking that responsibility upon themselves – not to flop.
“If you’re on your feet and you’ve entered through the gate, then the game flows and that’s what we want from rugby; we want the breakdown to be clean and have the ball in hand in attack.”
WQ
Guest
And a selective memory! You have confirmed yourself as the perfect Wallaby supporter. Would that be a pair of socks?
CraigB
Roar Guru
I don't assume to speak for all wallaby supporters, but the only mention of St Richie by me is in regard to him giving as good as he gets in regard to QC. So yes your right, again NZ fans love playing the victim, if it's not Suzie, it's the ref or travel or something. I suggest you grow a pair
WQ
Guest
You are right Jiggles, and as a Wallaby supporter you want to thank god he was watching All Blacks, because that's the only reason he has any idea at all!
WQ
Guest
No I don't think so, I think it is no different to the singling out of Richie McCaw by the Wallaby supporters. Ring a bell does it CraigB???
CraigB
Roar Guru
" He enters the ruck 90% of the time with no intention of maintaining his feet. He is totally committed to removing opposition forwards by any means, and he puts his body on the line to do it! " - Classic, maybe use both eyes and see this can be applied to every player in the game ATM. I agree its a blight but to single out 1 is just idiocy
Jiggles
Roar Guru
"Dan Vickerman is a serial offender at going off his feet at the break down!" Well he did spend those years at Cambridge watching videos of Franks, Thorn, McCaw and Read play so it is understandable...
WQ
Guest
Eric, Dan Vickerman is a serial offender at going off his feet at the break down! Just watch some video footage of him in action. He enters the ruck 90% of the time with no intention of maintaining his feet. He is totally committed to removing opposition forwards by any means, and he puts his body on the line to do it! This has worked for him in the past and has been the weapon that makes him so effective at the break down. Unfortunately for him it is illegal! It has in fact always been illegal however it is now being penalised heavily by some Referee's at the World Cup. Vickerman will continue to get penalised for this throughout this campaign, depending on which Ref is in control. This has been a fundamental strength of his game and he will not be able to stop doing it now! I do agree with you re the Wales vs South Africa game, South Africa are serial offenders at this as well and continually went off their feet at the break down against Wales. It seems Wayne Barnes not only fails to see forward passes but also fails to see players leaving their feet at the break down!!!
johnny-boy
Guest
A good sign that the Wallabies are accepting their responsibility to the team. Awesome stuff Dan, keep up the great work. Man you have added some starch to the pack. Just like old times :).
Eric
Guest
"That area of the game (staying on feet) is being hotly refereed"!!! Not by Wayne Barnes it isn't. That law did not exist in the Welsh v Saffa game. Vickerman's second penalty for going off feet was a joke. He was clearly supporting his own weight.