Interim head coach Frank Hadden had no hesitation in handing the 28-year-old Glasgow Rugby back-row forward the ultimate honour for the forthcoming internationals.

He said: I have known Jonny since the Caledonian Reds days and I have always been impressed with him both as a player and a person.

I have watched him grow in the role of captain at Glasgow and I believe he is capable of going to the next level in that role and look forward to seeing what he does in the next couple of games.

The key to success is the quality of the leadership group and its great to have on board people with experience like Scott Murray and Chris Paterson, who Im sure will make life a lot easier for Jonny.

Petrie will follow in the footsteps of fellow Dundee HSFP clubmen Rob Wainwright, Andy Nicol and Tom Smith when he leads the team out against the Barbarians at Pittodrie on May 24 before taking on Romania in Bucharest on June 5.

He enthused: This is an honour that I didnt really expect.

Its nice to know that Ive been going in the right direction with captaincy at Glasgow.

Petrie, who has won 40 caps, added: I tend to be very vocal on the pitch.

Off the pitch I think its important to tap into other guys strengths.

Weve a really good group of senior players in the Scotland set-up just now and well look to use people who have strengths in different areas.

I think people realise weve been through a bit of a low in the past year with all the changes in the upper echelons of the SRU.

Weve now got a chance to make a fresh start and theres a lot of anticipation within the squad to get on with the job.