Vickery's hopes of Barbarians call dashed
The Baa-Baas are due to tackle the Wallabies on Wednesday, December 3 in a clash which has been organised by the British Olympic Association to commemorate the centenary of the first London Olympics.
For many followers of Cornish rugby, the 1908 Games certainly hold a special place in their hearts and minds. At that time France were the defending Olympic champions, but when they withdrew from the event, leaving just Australia and Great Britain to contest the gold medal, it was then County champions Cornwall who took to the field to represent the host nation.
Australia, who had beaten Cornwall earlier in the year at the start of a 31-match tour, won the match with a 32-3 victory. However, the match went down in the history books and now 100 years later the game is set for another top billing.
And, as Cornwall's most prized asset on the current rugby stage, 32-year-old Vickery has made no secret of his desire to ensure there is some representation from the rugby-mad county at Wembley.
Sadly, Vickery's hopes of pulling on a Baa-Baas jersey for the first time in his illustrious career appear to be diminishing as the World Cup winning prop was not on the list of players made available to Barbarians selectors by Premier Rugby Limited at the start of the season.
His cause has been further hindered by the fact this his club side, London Wasps, are due to play a crucial Heineken Cup Round Three game with Edinburgh two days later.
It's certainly a blow and Vickery admitted as much this week when he told Rugby Times: "I've never played for the Baa-Baas, but it would have been nice. I've had a couple of invites before when I was at Gloucester, but the boss at the time [Phillipe Saint-Andre] wouldn't let me play in case I got injured.
"I'm up for it if asked. Unfortunately, though, I haven't received an invitation, but it would be nice."
The fact this latest fixture has such a strong Cornish connection makes it even tougher for Vickery, who added: "Cornwall is a very strong homeland of rugby and the people are absolute nut cases about the game and long may that continue.
"Let me tell you, to go and watch Cornwall play at Twickenham in a County Championship Final in 1991 was, apart from winning the World Cup, one of my most special rugby moments. It was just phenomenal with the supporters' passion and pride. I'm lucky to be from such a special part of the world and to have represented them at Wembley would have been nice."
The Barbarians, however, do intend to honour Cornwall in the December fixture with the team sporting the same coloured stockings as that of the Great Britain side in 1908.
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