Ibanez to skipper France

July 02, 2007

HOOKER Raphael Ibanez will captain France during the World Cup later this year, taking over from lock Fabien Pelous.

"It's an accepted fact, Raphael is the captain for the entire World Cup because he was there in the final straight," said team manager Jo Maso.

"This decision hasn't been taken lightly. We telephoned our players a lot, and Fabien when he was recovering. We talked a lot with Raphael because he has been the captain of the team for the entire season."

The 34-year-old Ibanez, who currently plays with London side Wasps, was captain of the French team at the 1999 World Cup taking the team to the final where they lost to Australia.

Pelous took over as skipper after that but there had been doubts about the fitness of the Toulouse stalwart for the World Cup.

"We just were not sure until the last moment that Fabien would be fit enough and we did not want to put more pressure on him," said Maso.

"The fact that the two of them are the best of friends made it a lot easier to make the change."

Maso added that Pelous did not officially have the title of vice-captain but added: "If Raphael isn't there, Fabien will be captain for that match."

Agence France-Presse