Gloucester have confirmed that scrum-half Willi Heinz has been named as the club's new captain ahead of the new 2017/18 season.

The scrum-half assumes the role having captained the side a number of times during his time at the club, taking over from Greig Laidlaw.

Heinz arrived at the Cherry and Whites from the Crusaders in the summer of 2015, and has gone from strength to strength during his time in the number nine jersey.

Director of rugby David Humphreys said: “Willi has developed into a true leader of this team and we are delighted to confirm that he will be our captain for the new season.

“He is a player who leads from the front and who truly has the respect of his team-mates, and all of the staff with the example he sets on and off the field of play.

“We speak about having a strong core of leaders in the squad and Willi has been a key part of that during his time at the club, and he was an obvious candidate for the role. He will be continuing to lead the group to help drive this team forward.”

Heinz spoke of his honour in being asked to take on the club captaincy.

“I was hugely honoured when David and Johan (Ackermann) asked me to take on the role this season and I'm excited to be picking up this responsibility.

“In this team we are fortunate to have a large number of players that have plenty of experience and knowhow and we all work well together for the benefit of this team.

“When I have had the honour of leading the team out in the past, I have loved to be doing so for such a historic club and it will be surreal to be on a long list of captains who have provided so much for the jersey. I can't wait to lead the team out when the season gets going for real.”

Gloucester’s first Premiership game is at home to Exeter on Friday 1st September.