RugbyRebels

Former Wallaby lock Dan Vickerman has passed away aged 37. Based on the nature of the articles, it is likely that it was by his own hand. Fucking hell.

Sad news. Terrible for his family.

He was a bloody good player to watch, and one hopes his friends and family have a lot of happy memories about the big fella

Another that falls.into the "much too young" category.

Unreal. RIP

Much much too young RIP

This is really sad news. No other words really.

RIP.

cashead wrote:Former Wallaby lock Dan Vickerman has passed away aged 37. Based on the nature of the articles, it is likely that it was by his own hand. Fucking hell.

I hadn't considered that. Is it not normal to be vague at this point or is there something I've missed?

So sad, either way. Good player.

Well it seems you're right, Cashead. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/r ... d8f1289549 Horrible.

Mikey Brown wrote:

cashead wrote:Former Wallaby lock Dan Vickerman has passed away aged 37. Based on the nature of the articles, it is likely that it was by his own hand. Fucking hell.

I hadn't considered that. Is it not normal to be vague at this point or is there something I've missed?

So sad, either way. Good player.

It's the total absence of a cause mentioned in the stories, despite the "death not being treated as suspicious."

van der Westhuizen - articles went on about his battle against MND. Lauaki - articles mentioned his heart and kidney problems that ended his career prematurely. Vickerman, though, gets no such possible cause mentioned in any of the articles. That, plus the list of helplines at the bottom of the articles.

Mikey Brown wrote:

cashead wrote:Former Wallaby lock Dan Vickerman has passed away aged 37. Based on the nature of the articles, it is likely that it was by his own hand. Fucking hell.

I hadn't considered that. Is it not normal to be vague at this point or is there something I've missed?

So sad, either way. Good player.

In NZ it is actually against the law to report that some one committed suicide. Apparently it doesn't actually cover overseas incidents, but in this case they seemed to have followed the same rules as a guideline.

http://thewireless.co.nz/articles/how-w ... ew-zealand
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8014318 ... ed-to-know

It's kind of a code now, where you can read between the lines.

Poor Dan and his family and friends if this is the case.

I agree with a measured approach to the reporting of these things as long as the data are available for public health. I'm sure some of you here are of a similar vintage to me and you may recall the issues with Takapuna Grammar students in the '80s. The scale of that was never really made apparent to the public, and I think treatment of the whole issue is a bit medieval in NZ.

That being said, DV wasn't in NZ and this is about him. RIP.

RIP

The Waratahs v. Brumbies fixture this weekend will see the Dan Vickerman Cup introduced to the competition, to be contested by the two teams Vickerman played for. I suspect it'll be fairly emotional.

Nice touch.

Reminds me of a couple of trophies Wellington played for. The first was the Jimmy Cotter Memorial Trophy against neighbors Wairarapa-Bush. I was just a kid when this was introduced but I seem to recall Cotter was a very promising Wairarapa-born sportsman who had represented Wellington at rugby and New Zealand at softball, but who died in a car crash with his friends. The other was the Mike Gibson Memorial Trophy against Otago. This was a bit later and I recall watching Gibson play a few times; always in immaculate physical condition. But the poor fellow had leukaemia and just couldn't fight it, finally succumbing in his mid-20s...