As he took the reins as captain of the Chiefs’ new era, Luke Jacobson says his predecessor Sam Cane was happy to impart advice on him should he come asking.

But reflecting on the season to date, Jacobson admits the transition has been easier than he anticipated.

“I probably haven’t actually reached out,” Jacobson says.

“We’ve got good management here and some good coaches that make it easy for me to just worry about on field and rugby rather than all the extra stuff which has been nice.

“We’ve still got a lot of experience in the team as well, and a lot of the players are driven to be the best and have some really good habits around preparation and looking after themselves, which can sometimes be a bit of a burden on the leadership group if those simple things aren’t done well.”

The 27-year-old has been a critical cog in the Chiefs machine for the past few years, with his physical presence and ability to cover all three positions in the loose trio making him an asset to the side.

With the likes of Cane, co-captain Brad Weber and Brodie Retallick moving on at the end of last season, Jacobson’s role in the leadership group took on a more senior position as well.

While Cane was expected to be returning to the club in 2025, last week he confirmed he would instead be continuing his time in Japan after being granted an early release from his New Zealand Rugby contract.

It was an announcement that caught many off-guard, Jacobson said he wasn’t too surprised.

“I was hoping he would come back because he’d be awesome to have around the Chiefs and I know how much he wants to come back here and win a Super Rugby title with guys he’s been around with since the start of us coming in,” Jacobson says.

Luke Jacobson took over as Chiefs captain following the departure of co-captains Sam Cane and Brad Weber at the end of 2023. Photo / Photosport

“He’s probably moulded a lot of what and who we are now, but I completely understand him staying over there. He’s pretty much achieved everything in New Zealand - he’s won a World Cup, he’s won Super Rugby titles, and he’s been at the top of the game here for pretty much a decade.

“At some point, you’ve got to take a look at your options. Him with a young family, setting up for them – I mean, I don’t think he’d be short of any pennies now as it is anyway, but you can never have enough pennies and he’ll be looking to set himself up well for retirement.”

Just as Cane’s exit from the Chiefs saw Jacobson step into the captaincy role, the 32-year-old being unavailable for the All Blacks beyond the 2024 season provides an opportunity in the loose forwards at the top level, too.

Cane has been a long-standing starter at openside for the All Blacks and the team’s fulltime captain since 2020.

With his announcement, the country’s top loosies will be eyeing the opportunity to step into that role as soon as the new management team look to fill it.

Jacobson, who has spent most of his time at the back of the scrum this year, was among a number of those who knew the importance of their performances in the final few weeks of the Super Rugby Pacific season on both results and their outlook for higher honours.

“I think it’s first thing first for me and just making the squad. I’ve got to play good footy week-in, week-out and put my name in that conversation and hopefully get in the team,” Jacobson said.

“There’s a lot of good loosies in the country and I can’t take anything for granted. Me thinking about getting a little more time on the field would probably be a bit short-sighted. I just need to play it week to week, put my best performance on the pitch and hopefully get in the team. Once I get in there I can start to think about that sort of thing.”

He’ll look to continue building on what has been a strong season on Friday night when he leads the Chiefs out against the Hurricanes.

“They’re a big, physical pack that like to try and go through teams,” Jacobson said of the Hurricanes.

“Us as a forward pack have a big job to do around set piece, our scrum, first-up tackles and around our carry and clean game. We feel like if we can get our backs that go-forward ball that they like then we’re a really dangerous team, but we can’t do that if we don’t win the battle up front.”

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.