Premiership talking points: Gabriel Ibitoye, Harlequins defence and Zach Mercer’s mixed emotions
Gabriel Ibitoye’s rugby pathway has taken the road less travelled.
In 2018, Eddie Jones called him up to an England senior squad as a teenage apprentice, but a little more than three years later he had signed up to Tel Aviv Heat, a globe-trotting mix of out-of-favour overseas stars and local Israeli players.
Finally at Bristol Bears, the Londoner seems to be nearing the destination his promise indicated.
For three-quarters of their game at Exeter, the 26-year-old had been overshadowed by his opposing wings. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Paul Brown-Bampoe, the Chiefs’ double-barrelled dual threat, had scored two tries apiece and given the hosts a 20-point lead after an hour.
But Ibitoye’s dizzying nine-minute hat-trick – all red-line, top-end speed to finish off openings created by AJ MacGinty, Benhard Janse van Rensburg and Harry Randall – flipped the match on its head.
Last season Ibitoye made more metres (1,432), threw more offloads (30) and beat more defenders (75) than any other player in the Premiership’s regular season. He topped all those categories by a distance.
He was also joint top for line breaks with Northampton’s Tommy Freeman – all while playing for a team that finished fifth.
Ugo Monye, speaking on Rugby Union Weekly last week, suggested international rugby might rein in what makes Ibitoye special.
Bristol boss Pat Lam, though, backed his man to finally make the step up.
“I believe he’s good enough to play at the next level,” he said.
“His fundamentals as a winger are great, and then on top of that, we get the Gabriel Ibitoye who’s brilliant. He’s one of the fittest guys, he’s electric, but it’s about him staying in the game and he’s done that very well.”
England announce their squad for the autumn internationals on Wednesday.
