Birth name | Gabriel Oluwatimilehin Kayode Ibitoye | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 5 March 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Lambeth, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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Gabriel Oluwatimilehin Kayode Ibitoye (born 5 March 1998) [1] is an English professional rugby union player for Bristol Bears in Premiership Rugby. His primary position is wing.
Ibitoye began playing rugby at Trinity School aged eleven. [2] Initially a forward, he later moved to the centres and then wing. [3] His first club was Bromley R.F.C. [4]
In 2015 and 2016 Ibitoye represented the England under-18 team. [2] [5] He was a member of the squad that completed a grand slam in the 2017 Six Nations Under 20s Championship. [5] Later that year he scored tries against Wales and Australia during the pool stage of the 2017 World Rugby Under 20 Championship. [5] [6] He started in the final of the tournament as England were defeated by New Zealand. [7]
Ibitoye competed in the 2018 U20 Six Nations scoring in their last fixture against Ireland. [8] He was included in the squad for the 2018 World Rugby Under 20 Championship and scored two tries in a victory over Scotland. [9] He started in the junior world cup final for a consecutive year as England finished runners up to hosts France. [10] In February 2018 Ibitoye was called up by coach Eddie Jones to train with the senior squad. [5]
Ibitoye joined Harlequins academy at the age of twelve. [11] He made his club debut in November 2017 against Saracens. [5] 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. [11] [12] 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. [13] Following the end of his contract at Montpellier, he signed with Israeli side Tel Aviv Heat. [14] [15]
Ibitoye was signed by Bristol Bears for the 2022–2023 season. [15]