Ibañez served as France captain for the 2007 Six Nations, taking over from the injured Fabien Pelous for France's first two matches, and then being named captain for the remainder of the competition after Pelous' injury ruled him out of France's remaining three fixtures. Also in the 2007 Six Nations Ibañez became the first player to score a try in the 82,300 capacity Croke Park after the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) modified their Rule 42 in 2005 which banned foreign sports from being played in Croke Park. Under the modified rule both the Ireland national rugby union team and Republic of Ireland national football team were allowed to play their home games in Croke Park while renovations were carried out on Lansdowne Road (reopened as the Aviva Stadium).