White named as Scotland captain

British & Irish Lion Jason White has been named as Scotland's 107th Test match captain. [more]

Lions Australia Tour 2013

British & Irish Lion Jason White has been named as Scotland’s 107th Test match captain.

The 27-year-old Sale Sharks forward has been capped 46 times for his country.

Scotland coach Frank Hadden believes White’s vast experience meant he was the ideal candidate for the job.

He said: "I am delighted to announce Jason’s appointment as Scotland captain. He is now one of the senior pros in the side and his physical approach makes him ideal to lead by example."

Hadden admitted he faced a difficult decision when deciding who should lead the national team.

But White’s previous leadership experience at club level and as a Scotland youngster won him the honour.

Hadden added: "As with much of the selection for the national side, there were a number of excellent candidates from which to choose a captain.

"Jason has experience of captaincy with Sale Sharks this season and with Glasgow and Scotland at Under-21 and Under-19 level in the past and I have admired his contribution ever since we worked together with the Scotland under-16 team in the 1990s."

White was thrilled to be named captain and says he is likely to lead by actions rather than words.

But he reckons his desire to "get stuck in" was what caught the eye of Hadden in the first place.

He said: "To be asked to captain my country is a huge honour. I won my first cap in 2000 against England when we won the Calcutta Cup and running out at Murrayfield that day was the best feeling in the world.

"I’ve been privileged enough to be able to play for Scotland quite a few times since and it never loses that feeling.

"As far as captaincy goes, I try to lead by example by getting stuck in.

"I speak a bit on the field but I’m not the sort of captain who speaks an awful lot.

"A little bit of everything, from training preparation to action on the pitch, adds up and I aim to lead the team well."

He is now determined to get off to a flier when the Test series gets under way.

"At the moment our big focus is to carry on playing well. We’ve got a good group of players and we all just look forward to the first game – which is, I guess, a new start for both Frank and me.

"The perfect scenario would be to see a packed Murrayfield with everyone in full voice and to get a good win against Argentina to start off the series."

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