Stand-in Scotland skipper Greig Laidlaw insists he has no plans to take over the armband from regular captain Kelly Brown.
Edinburgh scrum half Laidlaw will lead out the side for tomorrow’s autumn Test against South Africa at Murrayfield after Saracens flanker Brown was rested by head coach Scott Johnson.
Johnson has never confirmed Brown as his permanent skipper, despite usually bestowing the honour upon him.
It will be Laidlaw’s third match as captain after deputising for Brown during the summer clashes with the Springboks and Italy, but it will be his first on home soil.
However, amid any doubts over whether the Scotland captaincy might be up for grabs, Laidlaw has stressed he has no long-term ambitions to claim the armband for himself.
He said: “I’ve spoken a lot with Kelly about captaining the side. He’s been there for me this week, just like I’m there for him when he’s captain of the side. He’s not playing though this week and I’ve got the honour of leading out Scotland. But he’s an experienced guy and if I’ve got anything I need to ask he will be my first call.
“But as for whether I’d like the role permanently, Kelly is the current captain of this squad and I’m pretty laid-back about the whole situation, so we will just see how it goes.”
Laidlaw, 28, started out on his path to international rugby as a boy in his home town of Jedburgh and admits tomorrow’s match will be the fulfilment of a long-held ambition.
“It’s a huge honour for myself,” he said. “It’s something I’m excited about and now I’m looking forward to the weekend. I won’t take the responsibility lightly.
“I captained the side twice in the summer but it will be a lot bigger for me doing it in front of a packed house at Murrayfield.
“Doing it here at home in Scotland is a huge occasion for me.
“It was always good memories for me coming to Murrayfield as a kid.
“I remember going up to the schoolboys’ enclosure with Jedburgh Minis.
“Did I ever expect all those years ago that I’d be leading a side out here?
“Well, you always want that to happen but actually thinking that it will happen is a different thing.
“To realise this now is a special day for me and my family.
“But I can’t get caught up in that occasion. We need to keep to our plan and be passionate at the same time to make sure we get the same result.
“It was always a great day out at Murrayfield and we want to recreate that for the youngsters of today who will be coming up for the match.
“We’re hoping for a crowd of over 50,000 so if we can make their day on Sunday that would be excellent.”
Laidlaw has faced the Springboks twice during his 22 outings as a Scotland player, losing 21-10 a year ago in Edinburgh before coming close in Nelspruit in June before ultimately crashing 30-17.
The Scots had been 11 points up in that game at one stage but Jim Hamilton’s sin-binning handed the initiative to the South Africans and they claimed 24 points in a rampant second-half display to kill off the Scots challenge.
“We need to learn why we have fallen short a little in these last two games,” said Laidlaw. “We have had a good look at those games and we know discipline is going to be important.”