The 2003 World Cup winner captained England against the Springboks in the 2007 World Cup final in Paris and has 73 caps to his credit. He was also a Test Lion in Australia in 2001.
But leading the 2009 Lions at Newlands was a huge honour for him and he was delighted to finally get the win that took the Lions winning run to five matches in South Africa.
"It was an emotional day for me. I was last in Cape Town in 1998 on the so-called 'Tour of Hell' with England," said the 33-year-old Vickery.
"Coming back and being asked to captain the Lions is probably the most emotional thing I have ever done. The older you get, the easier things are supposed to become in life, but today was one of the hardest in my career.
"It was a hard fought game and we came out on top in a contest which we could easily have lost. Full credit to James Hook for stepping up a kicking that penalty having missed one earlier on."
The London Wasps tight head specialist also gave full credit to Western Province for the way they clung on to the Lions throughout the game to almost claim their fuirst win over the tourists since 1938.
"There were times when we did all the hard work but didn't finish it off. Western Province put us under real pressure," added Vickery.
"Every game we have had has been very physical and full credit to Western Province for their effort. In the end, we were happy to just get over the line.
"It was important to us to keep on winning as we move towards the Test matches. A week today is the reason we are all here."
