The next man up in England's youth movement
After setting the World Rugby U20 Championship alight in the summer, Harlequins’ talented back Gabriel Ibitoye is ready to take the next step this season and put down a marker for his club side.
His five tries at the annual age-grade championship saw him nominated for World Rugby Junior Player of the Year and although he ultimately lost out to South Africa’s Juarno Augustus, it was a campaign that left no one in any doubt as to his considerable potential.
It was Ibitoye’s first season of U20 rugby and a fitting culmination of two excellent years for Harlequins U18s, as well as distinguished performances as captain of the England U18s.
Now, in the final stages of recovering from a hamstring injury, Ibitoye turns his attentions away from the England jersey and towards the iconic colours of the Harlequins.
The buzz around Marcus Smith may be all anyone is talking about right now, but it should be just as audible around Ibitoye, who the club have no desire to loan out and believe that, at 19 years of age, is ready to push for playing time with the first team.
His try-scoring exploits, many of which seem to defy the laws of physics, are causing his profile to soar. His speed and aerial ability both tally well for a wing, whilst his offloading allows him to keep phases alive and stretch defences.
The footwork, finishing and cadre of other offensive abilities that he possesses certainly pop whenever you watch him play, but it might be his defence which is the most impressive aspect of his game at this level.
Whether marshalling the defensive line and making defensive reads at outside centre or dropping deeper and taking up the right positions on the wing, Ibitoye is as skilled a player when his side do not have the ball, as when they do. His one-on-one tackling technique is particularly enjoyable to watch.
It is something especially impressive given that Ibitoye only stands 5’ 8” and weighs in at a little over 14 stone. With those dimensions, people will flock to question how good he can be in defence, facing up against the physical monsters that the game boasts these days.
The answer? Not bad. Not bad at all.
Statistics without context aren’t particularly valuable, but it is worth noting that up until the final, England did not concede a single try on Ibitoye’s wing during the U20 Championship and when you factor in how open the games are at that level, it is not something to be dismissed lightly.
That ability to positively impact the game with his defence draws the player to the 13 jersey, but having excelled for England out wide and facing the possibility of both Marland Yarde and Tim Visser being international window casualties for Quins, the opportunity is there to push for valuable minutes alongside Charlie Walker on the wing.
As such, he is actively looking to improve his work rate and make sure he is as involved in a game as possible, rather than becoming isolated out on the wing. It’s a skill Chris Ashton perfected over the years and one that is often lost on young wings coming through, many of whom rely on their physical abilities to make the most of one-on-one opportunities out wide, rather than searching for the ball and space on the inside.
Something that will help Ibitoye in this regard is that his reading of the game – both in attack and in defence – is excellent, something which has become a hallmark of Harlequins’ senior academy members and academy graduates in recent years.
The youngster has already had a taste of senior rugby, featuring as an 18-year-old for Harlequins in their game with the New Zealand Maori last season. The inexperienced Quins side were solidly beaten, but that didn’t prevent Ibitoye from looking the part in his unofficial senior debut, matching up well against the likes of Matt Proctor and James Lowe.
The club’s desire to keep him close and not send him out on loan or dual-register him bodes well for his playing chances this season and if he can make an impact in those opportunities, Eddie Jones will know about it.
The England senior management are aware of Ibitoye, not to mention impressed by his defensive skills. It is quite a unique way to make a name for yourself as a budding winger, but given Jones’ reluctance to give Semesa Rokoduguni a prolonged run in the side due to perceived defensives issues, it is certainly not the worst way.
One of the hallmarks of the Australian’s tenure has been his eagerness to not only get younger players involved with the England set-up, such as Marcus Smith’s visit to a training camp as a 17-year-old and his current apprenticeship, but also to blood them, as illustrated by senior caps for Tom Curry, Nick Isiekwe and Jack Maunder.
Of course, England calls are still a way off for Ibitoye but for the versatile back to know he’s on Jones’ radar will do his confidence no harm at all.
Fast rises are something Quins and England fans are becoming accustomed to and though Ibitoye is actually a year Smith’s senior, he could well be the next player to tread early the relatively short path from the Stoop to Twickenham.
Comments on RugbyPass
In the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getitng to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
5 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
5 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
18 Go to comments