Elsom named Waratahs skipper

Sydney - Former Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom was on Tuesday appointed skipper of the Waratahs for the 2012 Super Rugby season, chosen ahead of the likes of Berrick Barnes and Dan Vickerman.

The 71-Test veteran makes his return to the Waratahs this year, a team the experienced flank played with for five years before moving to Europe, and he has been rewarded with the captaincy.

Elsom takes the reins from retired veteran Phil Waugh who has led the team for the past five years, and said his priority would be "getting everyone aligned".

"The main thing is to get everyone on the same page because it doesn't matter how bad the plan is, as long as everybody's doing it, we'll be okay," he said.

"It's a responsibility," he added of the role.

"If I wasn't doing it then someone else would step up and do it, so I think you need to recognise it as a responsibility to the rest of the guys."

Waratahs head coach Michael Foley said the team management had spent the past few months in discussions with senior players to determine who should be captain.

"There will never be a perfect replacement for retired skipper Phil Waugh. However, after defining the role and what it was the players expected and wanted from a captain, Rocky was the stand out candidate," he said.

Elsom captained the Wallabies for three years before he was replaced by James Horwill for the World Cup in New Zealand last year.

The Waratahs get their 2012 campaign underway against the Reds in Sydney on February 25.