London Scottish can today reveal that Danny Kenny has been appointed as First Team Captain for the 2017/18 season, with Chris Walker as Club Captain.
The pair will lead the Scots through the upcoming Greene King IPA Championship season, starting in just eight days when they host Yorkshire Carnegie at the Athletic Ground.
Kenny was one of the standout performers of the 16/17 campaign, and his leadership qualities have been demonstrated throughout his time at the club.
The 28-year-old featured 19 times last season, scoring four tries and also earning three man of the match awards for his hard-working displays at the base of the scrum.
Kenny’s season was cut short after dislocating his shoulder against Doncaster in March, but following successful surgery, he has completed intensive rehabilitation in order to be fully fit for the new season.
The Irishman has plenty of experience, having previously captained Ealing Trailfinders, as well as also playing for Doncaster Knights, London Irish, Munster ‘A’ and Leinster ‘A’.
Kenny is thrilled to be selected as captain: “It’s a huge honour to be captain of the side. I’m really looking forward to it, we have a lot of leaders around the squad so hopefully I can lead by example.”
Walker is back with the Scots for his second spell with the club, after originally joining during the 14/15 campaign which saw the Scots qualify for the semi-finals of the Greene King IPA Championship for the first time.
The flanker has played for the Scots on 35 occasions in the back-row, and the former New Zealand Under-21s representative has also had a spell at Doncaster Knights as well as featuring for Taranaki in the ITM Cup.
Walker will train with the squad on a part time basis whilst he continues to work in property services, after featuring for Blackheath in National One last year.
The New Zealander is delighted to take up the reigns as Club Captain upon his return to the club.
“I’m thrilled to be appointed as club captain for the squad. It’s great to be back and I’ll ensure that I put everything in to helping Danny, the coaches and players as much as I can in this role.”
Director of Rugby Dave Morris has no doubt that he has two committed London Scots who will skipper the side in 17/18:
“Being new this season I felt it was important when choosing leadership positions to spend time observing and also to understand the full-time and part-time dynamic.
In Danny, I feel very confident that we have a very influential player both on and off the pitch. He is tactically very astute and has a quiet presence and authority about him that people buy in to.
Chris is one of our part-time players. What I admire about Chris is that he never compromises on the standards he expects of himself and others. You can tell the club and the people of the club mean a great deal to him.
Importantly, I also know that both players will tell me what I need to know rather than what they think I want to hear. I very much look forward to working with both DK and Chris in making everyone involved with the club very proud.”
