Luke Watson will skipper Bath Rugby for the forthcoming season - having put his own nomination for the captaincy to the vote.

The 26-year-old South African will take over from countryman Michael Claassens, who declined the opportunity to skipper Bath for a second season.

Watson, who has played 20 times for Bath since arriving at The Rec in November, was offered the captaincy by head coach Steve Meehan at the end of last season immediately after Claassens ruled himself out.

The captaincy was formally announced on Saturday at a squad meeting in Aix-en-Provence attended by chairman Bruce Craig.

The charismatic loose forward has pledged to “sacrifice” himself for the good of Bath Rugby - and is calling on his players to put the club “above all individual ambitions”.

But rather than immediately accepting the role when it was offered to him, Watson asked Meehan to run the proposal past the club’s senior players.

If a dissenting voice had emerged, then Watson would have turned down Meehan’s offer to wear the armband.

Watson, who came under fierce scrutiny during his latter years in South Africa for his forcefully expressed views on the country’s rugby establishment, said he was anxious to avoid the perception he was being “forced down people’s throats”.

“I told Steve that I would continue to be a leader and give my all for the side whether or not I was captain,” he told the Chronicle.

“I told him if there was one man in the team who didn’t want me to be captain then it wasn’t worth causing a big issue over it, because I’m still going to give it my all.

“Let’s head in a direction that everyone wants to head in, let’s head in a direction where the majority has the say - I’m a firm believer in democracy and I don’t want to be forced down people’s throats because it’s just not going to work.

“It was fantastic that I’d been identified as a potential captain, but I thought let’s see what the side has to say. I was very relieved when Steve came back to me and said there had been a lot of positive feedback.”

For all his success captaining Western Province in 2009, the 10-cap Springbok admits he is far from the finished article.

“I’ve been captain of a few sides and I’m learning,” he said. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes and every now and then hit the nail on the head.

“The one thing that I’ve learnt is that it’s always far more effective to encourage leadership from within the side. In this side you’ve got Danny Grewcock, David Flatman, Lee Mears, Olly Barkley, Stuart Hooper, Michael Claassens, even Butch James coming back and Nick Abendanon at the back - there are leaders everywhere. They are guys that can contribute to the team and make not only my job as captain easier but create an environment where ownership and responsibility are attractive things: where people want to take responsibility and contribute.

“One of the most detrimental things there can be in a team is pride and ego. We are going to try and place Bath above all individual ambitions.

“People very quickly want leadership. It feeds their ego, maybe it gives them a false sense of authority and importance. They think ‘I’m a leader’ and then spend most of their life trying to establish themselves as leaders.

“But the best leaders are those that actually follow: they are willing to sacrifice and are willing to pay the price and not stand on the podium and tell everyone else what to do.

“For me personally the captaincy is obviously an honour and a big privilege, but it’s also a big responsibility.

“I’ve got the most to learn and I’ll be listening to everyone.”

For Meehan the decision to make Watson skipper was simple once Claassens had ruled himself out.

“The starting point was talking to Michael Claassens at the end of last season about the captaincy and whether he wanted to continue with it. When it was clear where his mind was at, it was from my point of view pretty straightforward after that.

“Luke ticked all the boxes for the things we were looking for.

“The players were appreciative of being asked for their opinion. It’s not been difficult at all and there’s not been any negativity towards it.

“Luke takes over with the club in a far better state than it was 12 months ago. From the first day back you could feel a different atmosphere. He takes over a side that’s in a good frame of mind and finished off the season playing some lovely rugby. The timing of it is good for everybody.”

Meehan has also named David Flatman, Danny Grewcock, Stuart Hooper, Olly Barkley and Claassens as ‘section leaders’, or vice captains. They too got their leadership roles by popular vote.

"It’s a great indication of how highly regarded these players are by their peers,” said Meehan.

SEE THE THURSDAY, AUGUST 5 BATH CHRONICLE FOR:

* AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH LUKE WATSON ON THE ART OF LEADERSHIP

* STEVE MEEHAN ON MICHAEL CLAASSENS

* STUART HOOPER’S COLUMN FROM THE CLUB’S PRE-SEASON CAMP IN PROVENCE