Raphaël Ibañez
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| Raphaël Ibañez | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Date of birth | February 17 1973 | ||
| Place of birth | Dax, France | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Weight | 15 st 10 lb (100 kg) | ||
| Nickname | Raf | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Hooker | ||
| Clubs | Caps | (points) | |
| 2005-present 2003-2005 2000-2003 1998-2000 1991-1998 |
London Wasps Saracens Castres Perpignan Dax |
52 30 |
(40) (20) |
| National team(s) | |||
| 1995-2007 | France | 98 | (40) |
Raphaël Ibañez (born 17 February 1973 in Dax, France) is a French rugby union footballer. He is a hooker, and a former captain of the France national team.
Ibañez 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, before his first retirement from international rugby in 2003. He won successive Grand Slams with France in 1997 and 1998 and led them to the World Cup Final in 1999.
After his first international retirement 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 would add 26 more France Test caps, 15 of them as captain, before announcing his second and final international retirement in 2008.
Ibañez served as France captain for the 2007 Six Nations, taking over from the injured Fabien Pelous for France's first two matches, and then being named captain for the remainder of the competition after Pelous' injury ruled him out of France's remaining three fixtures.[1]
He was also heavily responsible for London Wasps' win in the 2007 Heineken Cup final, playing in the same side as fellow Six Nations captain Phil Vickery.
After Pelous' injury troubles continued,[2] Ibañez was named as France captain for the 2007 Rugby World Cup, with Pelous as his unofficial vice-captain.[3] France would go on to finish fourth in the 2007 World Cup.
Ibañez announced his second retirement from Test rugby on 10 January 2008, but continues to play for Wasps.[4] On 28 February 2008, Wasps announced that Ibañez and the club had agreed on a contract extension which will see him serve as a specialist forwards coach in the London Wasps Academy, as well as play for the senior side, during the 2008-09 season.[5]
| Preceded by ?? |
French national rugby union captain 1998-1999 |
Succeeded by Fabien Pelous |
| Preceded by Fabien Pelous |
French national rugby union captain 2007 |
Succeeded by Lionel Nallet |
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ France robbed of skipper Pelous. RugbyRugby.com (February 20, 2007).
- ^ France hand Ibanez the armband. Planet-Rugby.com (2007-07-02). Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
- ^ "Ibanez to captain France at Cup", BBC Sport, 2007-07-02. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
- ^ "France's Ibanez quits Test rugby", BBC Sport, 2008-01-10. Retrieved on 2008-01-10.
- ^ London Wasps (2008-02-28). "Ibanez extends his time with Wasps". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
[edit] External Links
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