Six Nations/England v France:When Raphael Ibanez was made captain of France in mid-November, after Les Bleus' 40-point defeat by New Zealand in Lyon, the coach Bernard Laporte had no hesitation in describing the role as "a poisoned chalice". They were in total disarray and a second outing against the All Blacks was only a few days away.
Few would have dared predict it back then, but four months on, the venom-filled vessel has a good chance of turning into silverware. The Six Nations Championship trophy is beckoning France for the second year running, and victory against England on Sunday will put them on course for the Grand Slam.
Even though Ibanez is merely a "temporary" captain, standing in while Fabien Pelous deals with an ankle injury, the pressure is now on his predecessor, who has yet to return to training. "The World Cup is my destiny, I will be playing," Pelous emphasised. Already he and Ibanez are having to fend off murmurings in the French media that his stand-in should lead the country this autumn.
The undercurrent has nothing to do with nostalgia, with the fact that Ibanez led France to the final in 1999. It stems from the perception the Wasps player has played a key part in the turnaround in France's fortunes. As for what Ibanez brings to the side, it can be summed up in one key episode from France's latest victory, against Wales. Nearly a quarter of an hour into the game, France were 14-3 down having shipped two tries.
"We were all standing under the posts waiting for the conversion, saying things like 'excuse me' and 'I'm sorry I missed that tackle'," recalled Olivier Milloud, Ibanez's front-row partner. "Raph just butted in: 'Stop apologising, stop making excuses, and get on with it.' In the past, a French team might have crumbled at that point, but instead we turned it round." Wales were duly snuffed out in the next 25 minutes.
"After the first Test against the All Blacks, Raph found the right things to say," observes Milloud. "We had to get our heads above water. We had lost our confidence after being given the runaround in so many areas."
The centre Yannick Jauzion echoed the sentiment: "A 40-point defeat was hard to digest. But he put us back together again."
If England lose to Ibanez's France on Sunday, there will be one great irony: the French captain's experiences in England have, he says, been critical in his return to international rugby after his premature retirement following the 2003 World Cup.
"I came to England because in 2003 I was curious to learn what had made them world champions. I found a rugby culture of total physical and mental commitment, players capable of pushing their limits in training. At a club like Wasps the standard is high; you have to train hard merely to get by."
Hardly surprising, then, that the 34-year-old has spent this week playing down expectations, playing up the strength of France's hosts.
"I forbid anyone to say England are shadows of themselves. Perhaps they will lack cohesion, but they will have free minds, they are on home soil, they know places in the World Cup are at stake. "
As for those who see France cruising to a Grand Slam, Ibanez was equally cautionary: "We have something in our hands, but we need to fight hard to preserve what we are building."
Guardian Service
