Lions coach John Mitchell has confirmed Franco van der Merwe will captain the team

Doppies la Grange has been named as vice-captain.

The Lions rugby team have a pleasant headache – to pick a captain for this year’s Super rugby competition.

Coach John Mitchell will inform the media about his decision on Tuesday.

Mitchell has previously said that a core group of leaders in the team is more important to him than the “rank” of the captain.

Even so, the success of utility forward Franco van der Merwe as captain in last year’s Currie Cup will weigh heavily in his favour.

Van der Merwe, Cobus Grobbelaar and Wikus van Heerden are the main contenders, while Doppies la Grange is also one of the senior players who is viewed as a leader in the squad.

However, Van der Merwe, Grobbelaar and Van Heerden are all competing for a starting berth on the flank. Van der Merwe can also play lock.

The competition will be fierce following a number of new acquisitions and the captain has to be a certainty in the starting line-up.

The GLRU’s player of the year, Derick Minnie, will also compete for a place in the loose-trio with Michael Rhodes, Josh Strauss and Warren Whiteley.

Van der Merwe (27) also probably has more rugby left in him than Grobbelaar (29) and Van Heerden (31).

Grobbelaar and Van Heerden, who are both popular leaders, were injured during last year’s Currie Cup, and in their absence Van der Merwe stood out as a captain under whom the team made major strides.

Meanwhile, the Lions are set to announce a new jersey sponsor this week, with Auto&General’s contract having come to an end. Cellular phone giant MTN are set to be unveiled as the new sponsor.