Joe Launchbury to continue as Wasps captain

England lock Joe Launchbury will continue as Wasps‘ captain for the 2017/18 season, having led the side to the Premiership Final in his first term.
Launchbury passed the milestone of a century of appearances for Wasps last season and was an integral part of helping the club reach the Premiership Final and a Champions Cup quarter-final.
The 44-time capped England international is entering his eighth season at Wasps, having joined from Worthing in 2009as a 19-year-old and has made 109 appearances for the club.
He said: “It’s a massive honour to have been named captain again for the 2017/18 season and something I am excited about. Wasps is a club I’ve been at for a long time now and I enjoyed the opportunity to play more of a leadership role last season.
“We have a good leadership group within the squad and there is a lot of talent. We will all continue to work hard to try to improve in every area and to get the best out of each other. We’re all looking forward to the Aviva Premiership starting and our first game against Sale Sharks at the Ricoh Arena on the opening weekend of September.”
Wasps’ Director of Rugby Dai Young added: “Joe did a really good job for us last season and he will only get better the longer he does the role. He has become a natural leader around the place and has grown with the responsibility of being captain and a senior squad member.
“Last year we worked to grow the leadership group and fans can expect other players to wear the captain’s armband again this season while Joe is on international duty, enabling players to understand what is required to lead the squad on and off the field. Great teams don’t only rely on one or two leaders, they have at least five or six and that’s what we want to continue to build here.
“We’ve been fortunate to have had some fantastic captains during my time at Wasps with James Haskell, Matt Mullan, Chris Bell, Hugo Southwell and John Hart, and Launchers is the latest in that long line. As well as being an incredibly talented player, he has the respect of the entire squad and coaching staff and has really helped to drive standards.”