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'He should be playing for one of the best clubs in the world'
Three years ago Harlequins youngsters Gabriel Ibitoye and Marcus Smith were “apprentice” players added to the England squad preparing to play France but their careers have since taken very different routes.
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While Smith is still at Harlequins having become and England international and a British and Irish Lion, Ibitoye is at a rugby cross roads and finds himself trying to regain lost ground as a member of Tel Aviv Heat , Israel’s first professional rugby team, who play their first game in Tbilisi against Black Lion on Saturday in the inaugural Rugby Europe Super Cup.
In July last year, Ibitoye left Harlequins to join Agen in the Top 14 on a two-year deal. However, he was granted mutual release from the club and he signed for Montpellier as a medical joker for the rest of the 2020-21 season. He is now a free agent on a short term contract with Tel Aviv alongside ex-Springbok Nic Groom, Namibian No8 Renaldo Bothma and a group of Fijian players who only arrived at the start of this week to face a team made up of Georgian internationals.
His attack coach with Tel Aviv knows all about recovering from a serious set back in rugby. Demetri Catrakilis was left fighting for his life in September 2017 after suffering a freak throat injury playing for Harlequins. The outside-half was taken off the pitch on a stretcher, with an oxygen mask on his face as he fought against the swelling that was constricting his throat and making breathing increasingly difficult.
Catrakilis had been accidentally struck in the throat by the shoulder of Gloucester’s Andy Symons and needed oxygen and feared for his life during the 30-minute ambulance ride to hospital, where he was given injections to relax his throat and took six months to recover.
Catrakilis cannot believe Ibitoye is playing for his newly formed team and constantly tells the wing he should be with a top European club. Catrakilis said: “I don’t know how Gabs is playing for us. He should be playing for one of the best clubs in the world and we are lucky to have him. He needs another chance and hopefully he is going to showcase his talents with us. I hope he finds a great contract at a big club soon and I would be surprised if he is not the best player in this competition. I can’t understand – and I have said this to him in recent days – how he doesn’t have a contract. It blows my mind. While no one wants to use these guys we are delighted to have them.
“We have had limited time together and I have only started working since we arrived in Georgia and it is difficult so we will keep it simple. It is like we are coaching the Barbarians.”
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Ibitoye is part of a Tel Aviv squad playing in the eight team competition launched by Rugby Europe and split into two conferences. Tel Aviv will play home and away against the Black Lion (Georgia) and the Russian teams Enisey-Stm and Lokomotiv Penza. Teams from Belgium , Netherlands, Spain and Portugal are in the other conference with the top two teams go through to the finals stages.
South African Kevin Musikanth, head coach of the Israel rugby union team, is in charge of Tel Aviv which has involved helping put the squad together, coaching the players and also picking them up at the airport when they arrive from around the world. He said: “I am coach, travel agent, recruiter while also sorting out visas and the Fijian guys flew into Georgia this week. We have 29 guys in our squad and eight are home grown players from Israel. Rugby needs competitions like this.
“Our budget is made up by backers and the average age of the squad is 26 and they are on short term contracts and we want to see how the competitions evolves. We only contracted our first player in the middle of July and the tournament is starting a month late because of COVID reasons.”
Comments on RugbyPass
“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
3 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
2 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
3 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
3 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
3 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to comments