George Gregan, Stirling Mortlock, George Smith and now Nic White.

Halfback White, 22, will become the 12th and youngest player to captain the Brumbies when they host the Melbourne Rebels in their Super Rugby clash on Friday night.

With 30 Super Rugby caps to his name, White will fill the boots of usual skipper Ben Mowen, who is away at Wallabies camp preparing for the upcoming British and Irish Lions series.

“It’s not something I saw coming,” said White on Wednesday.

“It’s a huge honour to be amongst those names. Something I’m not going to take lightly.”

More senior players who would have likely filled the role ahead of White – including Smith, David Pocock, Stephen Moore and Ben Alexander – are either injured or with Mowen at Wallabies camp.

Coach White said he chose the fiery No.9 because he completely understood the style of play the Brumbies wanted to bring to Canberra Stadium on Friday night.

“He’s got a great feel for the game,” coach White said.

“He’s very important to the way we want to play and contributes massively on and off the field.”

While a bonus-point win for the Brumbies would secure them the Australian conference title, it will also be a big game individually for scrumhalf White.

He’ll likely be going up against new Rebels halfback Luke Burgess for one of the remaining six Wallabies squad spots alongside fellow halfbacks Will Genia and Nick Phipps.

Former ex-Wallabies scrumhalf Burgess has been parachuted into the Rebels mix after returning from a two-year overseas stint with French club Toulouse.

“It’s definitely something no one would have seen coming. It’s a pleasant surprise as I’ve always wanted to play against Luke,” White said.

“He’s someone I kind of looked at to model my game off when I was a little bit younger.”