France v Argentina 3rd/4th Place Play Off Preview
France captain Raphael Ibanez insists the stakes remain high going into his side’s World Cup bronze-medal match against Argentina.
The tournament’s play-off for third and fourth place is seen by many as a non-event - but it has some added spice this time round.
Les Bleus took a blow to their pride in losing to the Pumas 17-12 on the opening night of the competition, and the hosts will be gunning for revenge.
It also signifies the last match as France coach for Bernard Laporte, while a number of the team’s players - such as Fabien Pelous and Ibanez - will probably be bidding farewell to the international game.
From Argentina’s point of view, they will be looking to again show they are worthy of a place on rugby’s top table and are a force to be reckoned with.
Both teams appear to be taking it seriously, with Ibanez labelling it a “special match”.
“Any match for the French team should be treated with due respect,” said the Wasps hooker, whose side lost to England in heartbreaking fashion in last Saturday’s semi-final.
“I’ll be happy to be there. I’m not the sort to run away, even after a loss in a World Cup semi-final on French soil.
“Argentina hurt us during the opening match, so it’s obviously going to be a special match.
“I felt privileged to see my name on the list as I wasn’t really expecting it. Now I’m ready for a good match - we need it.”
The mood in the French camp will have been downbeat all week, considering the manner of their defeat to England.
“We’re kind of in-between at the moment - we’re halfway between the loss in the semi-final and the bronze-medal match,” added Ibanez.
“But that’s normal; it takes time to deal with that kind of thing.”
Laporte, who will take up a role as junior minister for sport in Nicolas Sarkozy’s French government after the World Cup, believes the match is important in view of the forthcoming RBS 6 Nations Championship.
“The players have their pride, their will to win,” he said.
“Many of them will be eager to put on a good show as their career is continuing. In three months’ time, there’s the Six Nations.
“So this third-place match is a step in their career.”
He added: “We’ve got a heavy heart but we owe it to ourselves to finish well. We played a great quarter-final against New Zealand and narrowly lost the semi-final.
“Now we must secure this third place.”
Laporte has made a host of changes to the side that lost 14-9 to England.
The likes of Clement Poitrenaud, Aurelien Rougerie and David Skrela return in the backs, with the latter lining up at centre.
He was originally set to partner Damien Traille in midfield, but the Biarritz man has today been ruled out with a knee injury, his place going to David Marty.
In the pack, only Ibanez, prop Pieter de Villiers, lock Jerome Thion and flanker Thierry Dusautoir keep their places.
Argentina have made five changes to their starting XV, four coming up front.
Hooker Alberto Vernet Basualdo, prop Omar Hasan, lock Rimas Alvarez Kairelis and flanker Martin Durand are the forwards recalled, while winger Federico Martin Aramburu comes in behind the scrum.
Captain Agustin Pichot keeps his place at scrum-half, although the veteran hinted he may have another international game in him after the bronze-medal match.
“It could be my last game, but I would very much like to do that in Argentina,” he said.
Coach Marcelo Loffreda will move to Leicester Tigers after the World Cup, and he admits he is approaching tomorrow’s clash with a heavy heart.
“It is not only my end, it is the end of a long cycle and all these years have been a part of me,” he said.
“The fact that I have been able to share so many hours with the players means I will leave all this with huge pain and nostalgia.”
