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First-year coach Tai Lavea has named Chiefs second-five Orbyn Leger and Waiuku lock Lyndon Dunshea as co-captains of the PIC Steelers for this season’s Mitre 10 Cup.

Leger has been a regular member of the PIC Steelers since making his provincial debut in 2017. He follows in the footsteps of his father Gus Leger, who played for the province in the late 1990s.

The 23-year-old filled the captaincy reins for the first time last year but is given the honour of being appointed as the side’s permanent captain this year.

Dunshea, brother of Crusaders star Mitchell Dunshea, played for Auckland and the Blues previously but made the move to Counties Manukau this year and enjoyed a superb club season for Waiuku.

He was an obvious selection in the PIC Steelers and his leadership qualities have been recognised immediately.

“Orbyn and Lyndon were obvious choices for me,” Lavea said. “We really like the unique skills each brings to the role and we feel the balance will work well with our group.

“The idea of having joint captains works for us because they have quite different strengths. We have other leaders within the team as well and we feel this approach will work best for us.”

The PIC Steelers kick off their Mitre 10 Cup campaign with a match against defending champions Tasman at Navigation Homes Stadium in Pukekohe on Saturday night at 7.05pm.

Due to the current COVID restrictions in Auckland, attendance will be limited to just 400 spectators across four different 100-person bubbles.

All of the grandstand seating has already sold out and will be filled largely by season ticket holders while public sales to the embankment have also been filled. There will be no gate sales on the night.