Captain’s call for Chiefs Cane and Weber
All Blacks Sam Cane, 31, and Brad Weber, 32, will lead the Gallagher Chiefs for this Super Rugby season as co-captains.
Both are centurions for the Chiefs, with Weber celebrating his 100th game last season and Cane having played 137 times for the Waikato team since his debut in 2011.
Gallagher Chiefs head coach Clayton Mcmillan says making Cane and Weber co-captains was a “straightforward decision” as the pair had formed an “excellent partnership” in previous seasons. “As a halfback, Brad is an important link and communicator between backs and forwards whilst Sam is generally in the thick of things. Collectively they have a great feel for where we are at in games and the shared workload ensures they provide a balanced, reliable and calm approach to our on-field leadership,” Mcmillan says.
Cane has been the All Blacks regular captain since 2019 and clocked up a total of 87 appearances for the team.
Weber has 18 appearances for the All Blacks and played a total of 110 Super Rugby games.
Weber says he feels “really honoured” to be asked to lead the Chiefs alongside his “good mate Sam”.
“We have a great group of players and coaches that has the belief and is ready to take the next step and win a championship this season.”
Cane says: “I love this team and I take nothing for granted. I have had a great relationship with Brad over the years and we bounce off each other in this role.”
Despite the new co-captains, Mcmillan says he expects other players in the squad to “step up” and “shoulder some leadership” as well.
“Despite having a young squad, we have enough players who have accumulated several years of experience now to know what is required to thrive, not just survive at this level. Their leadership example . . . will provide plenty of support for Brad and Sam.”
The Chiefs will get ready for the DHL Super Rugby Pacific competition with a pre-season game against the Blues at Navigation Homes Stadium in Pukekohe on February 17. The game at Pukekohe is a joint event with the Waitomo Chiefs Manawa who will be playing the nib Blues and Waratahs in the lead up to the Sky Super Rugby Aupiki season.