SOUTH African back-row Gerrit-Jan van Velze will retain the Worcester Warriors captaincy this season.

The 28-year-old will take charge on the field for a third campaign since arriving at Sixways from Northampton Saints two years ago.

Van Velze, who dons the number eight jersey, played 16 times for Warriors in the Aviva Premiership last term, scoring four tries.

Head coach Carl Hogg confirmed: “GJ (van Velze) will be captain next year.

“I think he is an outstanding leader on the field and, strategically, he can sit above the chaos of a game and make really smart and clear decisions. GJ will captain us next year.”

Warriors will be jetting off for a training camp at high altitude in Tignes next week before playing a warm-up match against French giants Clermont Auvergne on Friday, August 12 (7pm BST).

And Hogg says he is “very proud” of the how hard the players have worked during an “intensive block of three weeks”.

“We have just come through an intensive block of three weeks and the players have worked extremely hard,” said Hogg.

“I am very proud of the way the boys have applied themselves over the past three or four weeks.

“We have had a really good balance between working hard and strength and conditioning work and we are in really good shape and in good spirits.

“The players are now getting a short break and we will be heading to Tignes for 10 days for high altitude training.

“We will be going away as a group of young men and Tignes is a fantastic facility and a great place where we can bond and gel as a group.”

Warriors will be taking a “squad of 43 players” on the trip and Hogg insists there will be plenty of contact drills and “live” training during the camp.

“Taking a squad of 43 allows us to train against each other and we will do a lot of live stuff,” said Hogg.

“We will be able to create some high-intensity live sessions among ourselves.

“We play Clermont off the back of a very intensive 10 days in Tignes but it will be a good opportunity to integrate our new players and see what we need to work on.”

Warriors open their Premiership campaign against defending champions Saracens at Twickenham on September 3 (2pm).

“We are looking to build on what we achieved last year,” said Hogg. “It’s about being consistent and we are challenging the group to create intensity but be consistent with their actions. “