a new, more important role for Raphaël Ibanez with the Blues?

His name came up in discussions after all the scandals which hit the XV of France during the tour in Argentina, but also during the disappearance of Medhi Narjissi: what becomes of Raphaël Ibanez? In November 2023, new missions were assigned to the former manager of the XV of France including “support the development and coordination between all the teams in France”.

He who was so present with the Blues until the World Cup, has somewhat disappeared from the radar. With missions to be carried out a little more in the shadows? We don’t know. What we know is that the evolution of the former hooker’s functions was undoubtedly linked to growing disagreements with Fabien Galthié. But will Raphaël Ibanez make his return to the forefront with regard to the French XV?

A “special role” from the November tour?

According to the latest information from L’Equipe, Raphaël Ibanez could be assigned new functions to supervise the XV of France during the tour (and perhaps for other gatherings to come). What will these functions be? Nothing has leaked on this, but Jean-Marc Lhermet confirmed this new trend, which is part of the continuation of the States General, the conclusions of which will be adopted from the November tour: “An organization will adapt to this implementation in which Raphaël will have a particular role. These are missions which complement each other and which evolve according to the situation of the men’s fifteen of France.”

but a new meeting should take place between the general manager of the Blues and Jean-Marc Lhermet, to define this new role. Jean-Marc