It is strange to enter the London Wasps training ground and not see somewhere the figure of Lawrence Dallaglio in turn prowling, cajoling, encouraging, laughing or brooding. This is Wasps AD, After Dallaglio, with the club coming to terms with life after the retirement of an individual with whom it will for ever be synonymous. It is stranger still that a club that is in a sense England’s finishing school should turn to a Frenchman as his successor.

In a squad of impressive beasts it takes a special individual to be considered capable of succeeding Dallaglio, a position that Ian McGeechan has entrusted to Raphaël Ibañez, international rugby’s most capped hooker, who in three years at Adams Park has become imbued with the very essence of what Wasps stand for. Seeing him and Serge Betsen, his compatriot in his first season at the club, there is a sense that the immediate future is in good hands. Both fit the Wasps bill: high-class players, winners and men of pedigree and integrity. With a combined age of 69, Ibanez is 35, Betsen 34, the pair are great friends from southwest France. Neither believed they would ever play club rugby together, let alone in England.

Ibañez knows what it means to succeed Dallaglio, knows that he has to be his own man. “Wherever the club goes Lawrence will be around,” he said. “He is not physically here but his spirit is. You cannot forget what he gave to the club for the last 15 years.” Ibañez’s task will be to establish his authority on a squad containing some fairly outspoken and strong individuals. It does not faze him. He loves the club, which explains how he is able to make the sacrifice of living alone in London while his wife and four children stay in Dax, in southwest France. Ibañez would not dream of trying to be Dallaglio Mk II. Some traits, though, are common.

“We have the same fire inside about winning and being competitive,” Ibañez said. “The Ibañez message will be different, the mission is exactly the same, that we keep winning. We have some big personalities here who know their mind; they are leaders themselves. It is very important to allow players to express themselves and then when you have distilled their points, decide on the direction.”

Wasps means much to him. “Since coming here I regained the captaincy of my country, went to a third World Cup, won silverware which I had never done before. I owe so much to the club. This is how I am able to live apart from my family. It is hard. But it is because I have such passion for the club. It is like a second family to me.”

This season will be as daunting as ever for the league champions, if not more so, not least because for half of the campaign they will be without nine elite England players, with five more involved with the Saxons. It will place massive demands and strain on the squad. “We do face a huge challenge this season,” Ibañez said. “All clubs are used to seeing us as big competitors, winning when it matters. We need to prove it again because we will have times this season when we will be short of players. This is why a few key players such as Serge will be so important to us over the winter.”

Betsen has been impressed by the matter-of-fact way in which Wasps train and prepare. In France, the first half an hour was taken up chatting. At Wasps it’s straight down to business, no wasted time or effort. “It is very professional,” he said.

When Ibañez discovered that Betsen had not retired completely from rugby, he was straight on the phone. He would not have done so for just anybody, conscious as he is of the Englishness at the heart of the club. “I am not a big fan of French connections,” Ibañez said. “At Wasps there is such a strong English identity. The club is a laboratory to produce English players. We do not want to change that. But the one Frenchman I would have recommended was Serge.”

Both have understandably perhaps, changed their perceptions of Les Rosbifs and what makes the Anglo-Saxons tick. “They were our big rivals, the people to hate, especially their captain Lawrence Dallaglio,” Ibañez said. “That’s the way we thought. I cannot define the English character, but being here has helped me as a man to open my mind and be more tolerant.”

Betsen, who has a minor knee injury and will miss the start of the season, chimes in: “I was always very impressed about England when I played them. I want to learn every detail of what makes the English strong. It is amazing to find out that everything I imagine you need to be successful is done here.”

Club information: Director of rugby: Ian McGeechan Captain: Raphaël Ibañez Website: www.wasps.co.uk Address: Adams Park, Hillbottom Road, High Wycombe, Bucks HP12 4HJ Telephone: 0208 993 8298 Tickets: 0870 4141515

Squad:

English unless stated

Internationals IN CAPITALS

Forwards -

Pat Barnard; SERGE BETSEN (Fr, 63 caps); Richard Birkett; Matt Corker; Hugo Ellis; Tom French; John Hart; JAMES HASKELL (8); Michael Holford; RAPHAËL IBAÑEZ (Fr, 98); DANIEL LEO (Samoa, 26); TOM PALMER (10); TIM PAYNE (8); TOM REES (11); SIMON SHAW (48); George Skivington; PHIL VICKERY (64); Joe Ward; Rob Webber; JOE WORSLEY (67).

Backs -

Henry Barratt; DANNY CIPRIANI (3 caps); Riki Flutey; Rob Hoadley; JOSH LEWSEY (55); Lachlan Mitchell (Aus); EOIN REDDAN (Ire, 12); MARK ROBINSON (NZ, 3); PAUL SACKEY (15); Joe Simpson; JEREMY STAUNTON (Ire, 5); MARK VAN GISBERGEN (1); TOM VOYCE (9); DAVID WALDER (4); Dominic Waldouck.

Fixtures:

Sept 6 London Irish (a, Twickenham)

Sept 14 Worcester Warriors (h)

Sept 20 Northampton (a)

Sept 26 Leicester (a)

Oct 1 Bath (h)

Oct 4 Gloucester (a)

Oct 12 Castres (h)

Oct 18 Leinster (a)

Oct 24 Newcastle Falcons (a)

Oct 31 Newport Gwent Dragons (h)

Nov 16 Harlequins (a)

Nov 23 Sale Sharks (h)

Nov 28 Newcastle Falcons (a)

Dec 5 Edinburgh (a)

Dec 14 Edinburgh (h)

Dec 20 Saracens (h)

Dec 26 Sale Sharks (a)

Jan 4 Harlequins (h)

Jan 10 Bath (a)

Jan 16 Leinster (h)

Jan 23 Castres (a)

Feb 15 Leicester (h)

Feb 22 Northampton (h)

Feb 28 Worcester Warriors (a)

March 8 London Irish (h)

March 14 Gloucester (a)

March 22 Bristol (h)

March 29 Saracens (a)

April 5 Newcastle Falcons (h)

April 19 Bristol (a)

April 25 Gloucester (h)