Matéo Ibañez, the son of Raphaël, manager of the XV of France, was forced to put an end to his playing career because of leukemia.
Aged 22, he played as a third line in the Blagnac club (Nationale, 3rd division), in the suburbs of Toulouse, after having been trained in Dax and having passed through Stade Toulousain and UL Bohemian RFC ( Ireland).
“Afflicted with leukemia, Matéo's season ends here to make way for another match that he will lead with courage in the face of the disease.
Courage being the best word to describe the state of mind shown by our flanker.
His maturity, his fighting spirit and his resilience accompanying him on the road to recovery and a fight that he will win
, "said the Haut-Garonne club in a press release.
And the Blagnac club to add:
“The bounces of a rugby ball are the perfect metaphor for life.
You may be the best player or the best prepared team, but all it takes is one of those cursed and unpredictable rebounds to turn everything upside down.
Therein lies all the beauty and cruelty of this sport.
This is also why rugby forges characters, makes women and men stronger and ready to face all the hardships, even the most difficult and unexpected, like the one that has just hit Matéo Ibanez and the whole Blagnac club.
We would have liked to start the year with a necessarily happier message, addressed to all members and supporters of Blagnac as well as to all rugby lovers, but we regret to announce some bad news,
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