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Raphaël Ibañez: His last game?
France captain Raphaël Ibañez will not be just going through the motions in Friday's 3/4 place play-off against Argentina in Paris.
Ibañez, a World Cup veteran of two semi-final defeats by England and a final defeat by Australia in 1999, is widely expected to retire from the international stage immediately after the tournament ends.
Re-instated as captain after injury concerns to Fabien Pelous before the tournament and during the last Six Nations, Ibañez said that he wanted nothing more than to finish the game with his team-mates one more time.
"I'm not leaving the sinking ship behind, that's not my style," the London Wasps hooker told reporters on Tuesday.
"It's important for me to be there, with my mates around me on the pitch, until the very end.
"This is not the right time to talk about that (retirement) but it's true that there are a lot of symbols around that match.
"It will be an emotional moment for several players.
"Of course this is not the match we had prepared ourselves for. We had hoped to follow another route but here we are. It's difficult to accept for all of us but our motivation is still there. We want to sign off with our heads held high."
Once Ibañez and several of his team-mates have played their last, they will likely be at the same stadium the following night to watch the final between England and South Africa.
The match on Friday is largely set to be ignored, but the 97-cap skipper has urged the locals to rally round and make it an occasion, and for his team to repay the outstanding support it has received.
"Nobody's jumping for joy but the atmosphere is not that bleak," Ibañez said.
"This last match is really worth something.
"We must give it all we have. We owe it to all those who have supported us with so much enthusiasm since the start of the tournament.
"We all want to play this match and we want to win it. Victory would be a gift we'd like to offer our fans."
