Rees, who has 15 caps for England and is five appearances short of the 100-mark for his club, is a product of the Wasps Academy.

He follows in the footsteps of the likes of Dean Ryan and Lawrence Dallaglio and will hope to lead the Wycombe-based outfit to silverware this season following a trophy-less campaign in 2008/09.

"It's a massive honour and responsibility to be asked to take on the captaincy and I am really looking forward to the challenge," said Rees.

"As a player, or as a captain, I wouldn't ask anything of anyone that I would not be prepared to do myself and in this group of players you can sense already a great unity. I think we are all really excited and will just be looking to really make our mark in the Premiership and Europe right from the start of the season.

"The squad has really come together through the pre-season with a lot of new players joining and there is a great blend of youth and experience - so for me it is a really great time to be given this opportunity."

Rees will be supported by veteran internationals Phil Vickery and Serge Betsen, both of whom have been selected as vice captains having led the side at various stages during the latter part of last season.

"Naming vice captains in Serge Betsen and Phil Vickery, we have a wealth of experience in all forms of rugby - international, Club, Lions, World Cups. They will offer Tom fantastic support, and we believe we have a number of players who could lead the side when Tom and or Vicks are called to England," explained Wasps' new director of rugby Tony Hanks.

"Tom is a hugely focused and determined individual, who is undoubtedly one of the best players in his position not just in the Premiership but in Europe and on the world stage. His talents on the pitch, motivation for success, and ability to really command respect not only from his peers and coaches but opponents also, makes him an obvious choice as a leader and I feel this is right time for Tom and for Wasps as we name him as our captain.

"One of his strengths is his ability to share leadership and lead by example and my philosophy is leadership is definitely shared this season - everyone has a responsibility to that - and I think Tom is the right person to really gather the squad."