Sydney Rays coach Simon Cron has named Waratahs and Manly halfback Matt Lucas captain ahead of the 2016 National Rugby Championships.

Lucas has been working with Cron on the formation of the 2016 Rays playing squad since the Waratahs and the Manly Marlins were knocked out of their respective competitions.

Coach Cron believes Lucas has the experience and the personal skills to excel in what is a testing but enjoyable role.

“Matt epitomises what the Macquarie Uni Sydney Rays are all about,” Cron said.

“He’s uncompromising, tough and at the same time has a very good Rugby brain.

“Matt’s been involved in the selection process of the squad and is looking forward to getting into the hard work and detail that we need to get across before the competition kicks off on August 28.”

Cron also confirmed a number of marquee signings including 2016 Catchpole Medal winner Will Miller and former Waratahs hooker Damien Fitzpatrick.

“Matt will have plenty of backup from the leaders we have within the group and in my mind he will work well with (Northern Suburbs flanker) Will Miller and Damien Fitzpatrick the Eastwood hooker and others we have in place.

“I reckon Matt and Will will get on like a house on fire, in my mind they’re like long lost twins!”

Lucas, on top of his training commitments with the Waratahs, met with several members of the Rays squad earlier this week before flying out to Rio to support his partner Alicia Quirk at the Olympics.

He’ll be back in Australia on August 14 to fine tune the Rays’ final preparations after, hopefully, helping to celebrate Quirk’s gold medal win with the Australian women’s Sevens side.

Born on the Gold Coast, Lucas attended St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace and played for the Sunnybank club in his initial forays into senior footy.

Lucas is one of three brothers who all play Rugby at the professional level. His older brother Ben is a former Queensland Red now playing in France, while his younger brother Tom is an Australian Men’s Sevens representative.

Matt too has been a member of the Australian Men’s Sevens team and was selected in 2013 with Bernard Foley for the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow. He also represented his country at the Junior World Championships in 2011 and 2012 in the national Under 20s side.

Lucas believes creating the right environment for success in the NRC will come from having “a bit of fun”.

“That’s my goal with this squad. Yes we will work hard but we’ve got to have some fun at the same time,” Lucas said.

“We’ve got to enjoy every time we come together and we’ve got to enjoy the type of Rugby that we play.

“We’ve got to get enjoyment from the hard work and the success that comes from that.

“It’s been a long season for a lot for a lot of the guys with Super Rugby and Shute Shield commitments and the hurdles will be both physical and mental.

“But with the way that the NRC is played there is no time to much around, we’ve got to hit the ground running.”

The Rays will kick off their 2016 NRC season with a match against the Western Sydney Rams at North Sydney Oval on August 28 at 1pm.

Their next home game will also be at North Sydney Oval on Friday, September 2 from 6.30pm and then it’s off to Pittwater Rugby Park for games on September 17 and October 1.