Vickerman returning to Oz

After heading to England two years ago to study at Cambridge University, international lock Dan Vickerman has announced he will return to Australia in 2011.

The 2m second rower will complete a three-year stint in England next June and return to Sydney where he hopes to launch his bid for inclusion in Australia's Rugby World Cup squad.

While rugby has been secondary to his studies over the past two years, Vickerman has spent much of his mid-year break in Sydney training at the IBM Centre under the guidance of Waratahs strength and conditioning staff.

And though the immediate focus upon his return will centre on Rugby World Cup 2011, Vickerman has also announced he will join the Waratahs for the 2012 and 2013 Super Rugby seasons.

"It was a big decision to leave Australia in 2008 but I wouldn't change a thing," said Vickerman.

"Rugby has given me the opportunity to play and study abroad but next year is the right time to come back.

"I've been in communication with the coaching staff at the Waratahs and the Wallabies for a while now and collectively we're all on the same page in terms of where we want to be at and what we want to accomplish.

"I know there's a lot of hard work to be done over the next 12 months to push for a place in the World Cup squad but that's what I'm focusing on and that's what I want to achieve."

Waratahs head coach Chris Hickey said the pending return of Vickerman would be a fantastic boost to the Sydney-based franchise.

"When Dan's at the peak of his game he's quite simply one of the best locks in world rugby and that's pretty hard to replicate," said Hickey.

"We've been building our second row stocks over the past couple of years since Dan left and it's provided opportunities to players like Kane Douglas to come through the ranks.

"Dan's return is only going to help those players, boost our depth further and his on-field leadership will be important to the entire squad."

Born in Cape Town, Vickerman represented South Africa at Under-21 level in 1999 before moving to Australia where he debuted for the Brumbies in 2001. In 2002 he was selected for Australia A before being promoted to the Test team to make his debut against France.

In 2004 Vickerman moved to Sydney to join the Waratahs where he established himself as one of the leading locks in the world. In 2006 he was named as a Wallaby vice-captain and the following year took part in his second Rugby World Cup campaign.

Prior to leaving Australia in 2008, Vickerman appeared in 54 Tests for the Wallabies and earned 85 caps at Super Rugby level, 52 with New South Wales (2004-2008) and 33 with the Brumbies (2001-03).

Vickerman has appeared in the last two Varsity matches between Oxford and Cambridge, captaining the Cambridge to victory in 2009. Last season he linked with Northampton Saints however he was limited to a solitary appearance against Sale in the Guinness Premiership.