DAN Lydiate has pledged to lead by example when he becomes Wales' 131nd captain in the Six Nations finale against Italy on Saturday afternoon, writes Chris Kirwan.

The blindside flanker has been given the nod by Warren Gatland in the absence of openside Sam Warburton and lock Alun Wyn Jones, who have head and foot injuries respectively.

Lydiate was given his first taste of captaincy by then Newport Gwent Dragons head coach Darren Edwards for the derby against the Ospreys in 2012.

"When Dan speaks the boys listen and he gets a reaction," said Edwards, ahead of that dramatic 21-20 victory at Rodney Parade.

"He's not a huge speaker but what he says makes sense and he what he achieves as captain will be driven by his actions – nobody can question Dan as a player or a person."

That praise still rings true and Lydiate, who now plays for the Ospreys, has twice carried out the role of skipper for Gatland, against the Melbourne Rebels on the British and Irish Lions' tour to Australia in 2013 and then for Wales in a midweek fixture against EP Kings the following year.

But the 28-year-old is relishing the chance to be first out of the tunnel in Cardiff for a full-blown Test.

"I jumped at the chance, it's a massive honour personally and for my family and I am really looking forward to leading the boys out," he said.

"We were bitterly disappointed with the first half performance against England and we are lucky enough to have another game this weekend to put a better performance in and get a good result.

"It was a tough pill to swallow but we've got to learn from it and come out firing."

He continued: "I wouldn't ask someone to do something that I wouldn't do myself… I'll throw myself under a bus so that's what I'll expect everyone else to do!

"There's plenty of leaders in the squad and a wealth of experience. Sam has said before that we have got leaders throughout the team, so just because I am the captain on the day doesn't mean there's no captains throughout the squad. That makes my life easy."