Gabriel Ibitoye
English rugby union player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gabriel Oluwatimilehin Kayode Ibitoye (born 5 March 1998)[1] is an English-French[2] of Congolese origin professional rugby union player for Bristol Bears in Premiership Rugby. His primary position is wing.
5 March 1998
| Born | Gabriel Oluwatimilehin Kayode Ibitoye 5 March 1998 Lambeth, England, United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 15 st 1 lb (96 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Trinity School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Career
Ibitoye began playing rugby at Trinity School aged eleven.[3] Initially a forward, he later moved to the centres and then wing.[4] His first club was Bromley R.F.C.[5]
In 2015 and 2016 Ibitoye represented the England under-18 team.[3][6] He was a member of the squad that completed a grand slam in the 2017 Six Nations Under 20s Championship.[6] Later that year he scored tries against Wales and Australia during the pool stage of the 2017 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.[6][7] He started in the final of the tournament as England were defeated by New Zealand.[8]
Ibitoye competed in the 2018 U20 Six Nations scoring in their last fixture against Ireland.[9] He was included in the squad for the 2018 World Rugby Under 20 Championship and scored two tries in a victory over Scotland.[10] He started in the junior world cup final for a consecutive year as England finished runners up to hosts France.[11] In February 2018 Ibitoye was called up by coach Eddie Jones to train with the senior squad.[6]
Ibitoye joined Harlequins academy at the age of twelve.[12] He made his club debut in November 2017 against Saracens.[6] In July 2020, it was confirmed that Ibitoye would leave Quins to join Top 14 side Agen on a two-year deal starting from the 2020–21 season.[12][13] However, he was granted mutual release from the club where he instead signed for Montpellier as a medical joker for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.[14] Following the end of his contract at Montpellier, he signed with Israeli side Tel Aviv Heat.[15][16]
Ibitoye was signed by Bristol Bears for the 2022–2023 season.[16] He was the joint top try scorer in the normal Premiership season in 2024–25, with 13 tries, tied with Ollie Hassell-Collins of Leicester Tigers. This was also key to Bristol Bears record setting 16 try bonus points from 18 games, beating Exeter Chiefs previous record of 15 in 22 matches.