Cheika springs captaincy on Mr Dependable Surprise title ... NSW captain Dave Dennis, in white, at the Waratahs season launch on Wednesday. NEW Waratahs captain Dave Dennis has been many things during the course of his rugby career. He has been the promising youngster at Sydney University, the injury-prone battler and the Super Rugby fringe-dweller. More recently he came to know what it was to be the quiet achiever, after overcoming successive knee injuries and finding consistency at the Waratahs. Finally, at the age of 26, Dennis came to know what it was to wear the most coveted of titles, that of Wallabies regular. "He's a guy everyone can relate to, he's been in nearly every situation that all players will see," Waratahs coach Michael Cheika said at the club's season launch in Sydney on Wednesday. Whether they've been club players or state players aspiring to international level, and he's been an international player. He can talk on that level with all the players and honestly understand that. It had been no more than 90 minutes since Cheika had decided on his choice for the captaincy and addressed the squad before they drove to the launch. Dennis certainly had no idea leading into the team meeting, apart from a vague conversation about leadership the pair had had shortly after Cheika arrived last year. "[Cheika] was being honest when he said he told us 20 minutes ago, so I was a bit rattled in terms of speaking to the boys before we got on the bus," Dennis said. I'm extremely honoured and proud to be asked to captain the squad, mainly the fact that I was born and bred in NSW and I'm a proud New South Welshman, and also the fact it's such a good group of boys. Being asked to lead them means a lot to me. Dennis is an excellent choice for a side desperate to prove its worth to a sceptical supporter base. He also has the rock-solid support of his teammates, who last year voted him the Waratahs' players' player of the year. "I think he's got a lot of self-belief, it's growing as he gets older ... he's earned that coming up through the grades and working through those different things, whether they be injury or selection issues, to get to where he's going," Cheika said. And now he's there he's going to make the most of it. Dennis said he felt comfortable about leading a team that had promised publicly to shed the baggage of seasons past and win back fans. "I spoke to the boys briefly this morning, and said I won't try to change too much of my personality, that's a key element of being a strong leader, not letting things worry you too much," he said. We're about rugby and winning games of football. I'll do everything I can to ensure that, and the other stuff is part of being a Waratah. It's a tough environment but the reality is every weekend we're playing a game of rugby we've got to win. I'll just stick to focusing on that.