Raphaël Ibañez

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Raphaël Ibanez (born 17 February 1973 in Dax, France) is a French rugby union footballer. He is a hooker, and is currently vice-captain of the France national team.

Ibanez began his playing career in his home town of Dax before moving to Perpignan and Castres. He made his debut against Wales in 1996 and went on to win 72 caps for his country, including 27 as captain. He won successive Grand Slams with France in 1997 and 1998 and led them to the World Cup Final in 1999.

After retiring from international rugby union following the 2003 World Cup he moved to Saracens. In 2005 he moved to Wasps on a two-year deal. In the first match of the following season, he was made captain as replacement for the injured Lawrence Dallaglio. Bernard Laporte made it one of his priorities to bring him back into the fold, especially after fellow hooker William Servat was ruled out of the autumn schedule with a neck injury.

He served as France captain for the 2007 Six Nations campaign. Ibanez took over the captaincy from the injured Fabien Pelous for France's first two matches, and was named captain for the remainder of the competition after Pelous' injury ruled him out of France's remaining three fixtures.[1]

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ France robbed of skipper Pelous. RugbyRugby.com (February 20, 2007).
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