Many in the rugby community were surprised when Michael Hooper relinquished the NSW captaincy this season.
One of his long-time rivals, Chiefs skipper Sam Cane, wasn’t one of them.
Cane will lead the Chiefs against the Waratahs on Friday night and the flanker has had a taste of Test captaincy in the past as well.
The 28-year-old said he felt Hooper’s call was a “mature” one that could put him in a better position to retain the Test captaincy.
“Not really, for me it's quite a mature decision,” he said.
“From a very young age, he's had a heck of a lot of responsibility on his shoulders and you do that for so long and you're always worried about the team and how you can help them and sometimes it detracts from what you put into yourself and your own game and I think it’s probably a mature decision from him to focus on his game.
“I think everybody already realises he's an outstanding skipper and he's done a great job and he's probably trying to get himself the best shot at being Wallabies skipper again.”
Captain or not. Hooper will pose a major threat to the Chiefs but Cane is confident their own backrow weapon Lachlan Boshier could step up in the breakdown.
Boshier leads the competition in turnovers (12) despite being rested for a game earlier this season and Cane lauded his backrow mate on Friday.
“His timing over the ball is really good, he's incredibly flexible and strong so he can get himself into those low positions,” he said.
“Probably the big thing for us is he's been winning turnovers at crucial times in the games, big moments so hopefully he can pinch another few tomorrow night.”
The Chiefs come into the clash after a bye week and a defeat at the Brumbies' hands but Cane said they had tried to move on from that upset immediately.
“We went from that game into a bye so we only had a couple of days training together and then try and use that downtime the best you can, although everyone was pretty keen to try and put it right then and there,” he said.
“We just try and look at the Waratahs by themselves as a game and I think back to our past encounters, they were always brutal and physical.
“The Waratahs always seem to get up for us and I've probably been on the wrong side of the scoreline too many times with them.
“We're under no illusions how tough it will be tomorrow night.”
Friday night’s clash will have a bit more intrigue than some recent trans-Tasman encounters after the Brumbies and Rebels flipped the table on some long droughts over Kiwi teams across the ditch in the past fortnight.
The Waratahs haven’t beaten the Chiefs since 2016, with their lean return coming amid a disastrous run for Australian teams against Kiwi teams.
“You'd have to assume so, the results have been that way ever so slightly,” he said.
“Even when there was that bad run, a lot of those games are so close and that's what you find at Super Rugby that you don't have to be on or off by much and the opposition can get different results. It just shows how tough games are, how tough the competition is."
The Waratahs take on the Chiefs on Friday March 6 at WIN Stadium Wollongong, kicking off at 7:15pm AEDT, LIVE on Foxtel, Kayo Sports and via RUGBY.com.au RADIO. The Brumbies take on the Sunwovles at the same ground earlier in the day, kicking off at 2:45pm AEDT, LIVE on Foxtel, Kayo Sports and via RUGBY.com.au RADIO. Buy tickets here.
