Alistair Hargreaves has been appointed the new captain of English Premiership club Saracens.

The 28-year-old former Shark succeeds Steve Borthwick who retired at the end of last season. Hargreaves has been capped four times for the Springboks, the last of which came against New Zealand in 2011, while he featured in Nick Mallett's World XV earlier this year. He has been at Saracens since 2012 and has played 44 matches for the English club.

'Alistair has shown exceptional leadership qualities since arriving at the club,' said Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall.

'He is unequivocally respected by staff and players alike and we feel certain he will lead the squad brilliantly.'

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