The 6'8, 120kg Scottish qualified, Nigerian lock unearthed in SA but who's now caught Edinburgh's eye
When Olujare Oguntibeju played his first game of rugby, only around 18 months ago, he was so perplexed at stealing an opposition line-out that he promptly gave the ball back.
This is the astonishing story of a Scottish-qualified, 6ft 8ins teenager lumbering around the paddocks of South Africa; a Nigerian kid taller than Eben Etzebeth and only a couple of kilograms lighter who took up the game so recently but has clubs across England clamouring to sign him.
The hulking lock might have wound up playing football or basketball were it not for his faith, but has long had his heart set on returning to Edinburgh, where he spent a dozen of his formative years. And after much deliberation he has the chance he craves – a trial with the Scottish club that will begin with a mandatory two-week quarantine upon arriving from Cape Town later this month.
Oguntibeju turned down offers from several of England’s premier teams to throw himself into training with Richard Cockerill and his Pro14 title-chasers. Scottish Rugby has suspended player recruitment as the coronavirus pandemic rages, but there is hope that a contract for the 18-year-old could emerge if he impresses sufficiently.
“I lived in Pilton in Edinburgh with my family from the age of two to 14,” Oguntibeju tells RugbyPass. “My mother tells me stories of how when I was young, I used to tell everyone I was a white kid, because there were not very many black kids in my class and I would get offended when people would call me black. But eventually, I got used to it and I didn’t see myself differently from anyone else, especially when I went to St Augustine’s High School, which was very diverse.
“I have friends there; my older brother is still in Edinburgh. I have a lot of, not actual aunties and uncles, but I see them that way, a lot of friends there that I keep in touch with.”
Having spent so long in Scotland at such a young age, Oguntibeju is Scottish-qualified – Edinburgh’s staff have confirmed as much with World Rugby. He also has a British passport and hopes to enrol in one of the city’s universities, who have fostered fruitful links with the club. Quiet, studious and devout, you get the sense he rushes into nothing. Certainly, there have been firmer offers put to him, but Edinburgh has always been his top pick.
“My parents want me to go to an environment I’m familiar with and know people,” he says. “They want to be conscious that I won’t be lonely and I’m familiar with Edinburgh, it’s my home town. I visited there in February for a few weeks – it’s changed quite a bit, I had to keep Googling to go everywhere, but I’m still familiar with the place.
“My mum is a nurse and my father is a professor – they are both highly educated. Everyone in my family must at least get a degree, so as long as I get a degree and don’t drop out of school, they will be happy. I always wanted to do law, but I am also considering physiotherapy, which would give me the opportunity to stay involved in sport after I stop playing.”
This whole business has taken off faster than a scalded pigeon. Surreal doesn’t begin to cover it. Oguntibeju did not go to a storied rugby school, but his coach, Charl Jacbos, could scarcely believe that so immense a specimen had flown under the radar in the meat-market that is South African youth rugby. Jacobs rang up Dane Galley, a prominent agent who represents Scotland centre Huw Jones and World Cup winner Makazole Mapimpi, and offers began to flood in. The genesis, though, was decidedly inauspicious.
“In my first game against PW Botha College in George, they threw it over their jumper and I didn’t know I could catch it in the line-out, so I gave it back!” Oguntibeju laughs. “They had a guy my height, but much bigger than me. Everyone was saying: ‘that’s your man, that’s your man!’ That’s the first time I’ve ever been bounced and that’s when it hit me – I must use my power.
“One thing I struggled with at first was that self-preservation, not fully committing to tackling a person, but I know I’m big and they are more afraid of me and I need to use that size to my advantage.
“I had researched rugby and watched a bit, but I had no idea of the laws, I just followed everybody around. It was only mid-season when I started to get the hang of it.
“My coach told me at the start, he took me aside and said he saw potential, and that he said he was going to try to use his contacts to get me to the top – all I had to do was train. I’ve been training ever since, he lived up to his end of the deal, and this has happened.”
There is no doubt that Oguntibeju is still extremely raw. The nuts and bolts of his game, the rucking and mauling and tactical insights, will only come with time and drilling. He must learn to be nasty, to use his natural tools with ruthless aplomb. Dipping his toes in the waters of a professional environment where size intimidates nobody will be an almighty shock. Still, Edinburgh and others have seen enough in his fledgling career to give him a crack.
“In terms of going to a new high level, I’ve always played with people older than me,” he stresses. “I’ve never really played with people my age. In Grade 10, I was playing football against Grade 12s.
“I’m really excited about it; I just want to do well and show them what I can do. I’ve just got better and better every game and learnt something every game. I am still learning, I am relatively raw, but with coaching, I just need to practice.
“I’ve always wanted to be an athlete, it didn’t really matter what sport. Football was my sport, I was a football fanatic. I played from the start of primary and it was my main focus all the way until second year in high school. Then I was introduced to basketball before rugby. Sport has always been my passion and I’ve always wanted to make it.”
Indeed, the ambitious second-row might have been a gangling centre-half had football not clashed with worship. Spartans, a famous Edinburgh club in the fifth tier of the Scottish game, wanted him to play for their age-grade teams in primary school.
“My mother said no due to the fact that they played on Sundays and I had church, and church is our number-one priority, so I couldn’t join,” Oguntibeju says.
“A basketball club in Edinburgh wanted me to join them as well but I was relocating back to South Africa at that time.”
If Edinburgh do sign him – and it is a big if – he will not be their first capture straight from school in South Africa, with the muscle-bound centre Jordan Venter arriving from Paul Roos in December.
Oguntibeju has practically lived in the gym this past year, adding nearly 30KG of beef to fill out what had been a skinny 90KG frame. Along the way, he had to reassure his mother that protein shakes were not the same as anabolic steroids. He is still bewildered at the speed with which he is being catapulted to Scotland, but yearns to seize the chance put before him.
“I couldn’t believe it,” he says. “If you had asked me last year, I didn’t even really know what rugby was. Now I fell in love with the sport. I’ve always wanted to be an athlete and now I get the opportunity to show what I can do. I just want to show them as much as I can and let them decide whether I have what it takes to make it.”
From Pilton to the Western Cape and back again, the upshot will be fascinating.
Comments on RugbyPass
Wouldn’t be a bad move if Ireland pulled into SA with a young side. Particularly in Pretoria. Invaluable experience getting thumped in the bosveld.
49 Go to commentsIreland. The Princess Diana of Rugby. I never cheered so much for a team as i did for the All Blacks in that QF.
49 Go to commentsWill be great to see the Leinster first XV back in action again after their cotton wool time…
1 Go to commentsLooked up Grant Constable on google and reply was doppelgänger for Ben Smith
49 Go to commentsIt is so good that we now all get excited and debate who is best and emotionally get involved. We all back our teams which is great. Up until about 15-20 years ago, NZ was basically on its own, and then Saffa, Aussie and sometimes French and English were there. We now have at least 5-6 really top sides and another 4 who keep improving. This is so healthy. So we should not resort to rubbish comments and unhealthy debate, but rather all be chuffed that the product we watch is not competitive, exciting and often uncertain. It would be so good if World Rugger could find a way to align the rules to professional players as well as spectators. Live rugby games are SO boring as there is SO much down time as we wait for refs and TMOs and whoever else to look at every small event going back endless phases with the hope of eventually find a minute infringement to then decide cancel what was a wonderful try. This is the ultimate cork back in the bottle moment and feels like every balloon is always being popped. Come on- we must be better with the rules.
49 Go to comments“upon leaving said establishment I tripped over a stool knocking some bottles into the air and as I fell I accidently dislodged a police officer’s teaser who was passing by on an unrelated matter there by landing on said taser which caused it to discharge 50,000 watts into me. Out of shock I shouted Ireland are going to win the world cup. Upon waking up I apologised for the distress caused by my Ireland comment. The matter is closed. If you wish to pursue this matter may I remind you what I told Wayne Barnes when he sent me off. I AM A BIG ASS MAN”. Or was it “I AM A BIG ASS, MAN” or was it “I AM A BIG ASSMAN”?
1 Go to commentsThe only championship the Boks hold are: Great value for the incompetence of referees during the RWC Moaning endlessly and champions of spewing utterly ignorant 💩 at all times. Displaying the dangers of a third world education End of.
49 Go to commentsSouth Africa and Rassie do a phenomenal job of treating the 4 years in between World Cups as nothing more than a training exercise to build squad depth. The Six Nations money that keeps Irish rugby afloat is unfortunately too important to allow the same approach, and basic population size means we'll never get close to matching the depth of South Africa, England and France. That being said, Irish rugby is in a relatively good place and slowly improving inch by inch. If the other three provinces can pull the finger out and actually develop some players it'd be even better.
49 Go to commentsGood on Clarke for taking on the criticism and addressing his deficiencies, principally his laziness.
2 Go to comments“It is the people’s favourite against the actual favourite. It is the people’s champions against the actual champions. I’m joking, but it’s going to be a fantastic series.” Why did Darcy make that joke knowing it would be used as click bait? Why did RP headline it as a serious comment? Anyway, the tired comment isn’t very astute. SA players may have played more games etc. Darcy over estimated as a pundit.
49 Go to commentsNot sure Frisch will ever make the French team with Depoortère and Costes waiting in the wings to take over from Danty and Fickou.
1 Go to commentsThe Irish are tired and the Boks are old. The test series won't confirm who is best in the world, it will confirm which team needs to pursue the task of rebuilding with the most urgency.
49 Go to commentsGrant, the first time I have seen an article written by you. Maybe I have missed your previous stuff. These days all professional players effectively play a common season so all top players are equally tired, or rested. That is the job of the coaching ticket to build squad depth and juggle resources so players are ‘ fresh’ when the big games come. Possibly Ireland are less inclined to juggle squad compared to Rassie, who is prepared to take the risk to rest players as well as build depth throughout the year so come WC he has a full squad, experienced and rested enough to win 7 games. After all, to win WC you need to get through the tournament and then win the final big 3 games. Ireland should try and build a bit so come final 3 they are ready. So far only played final 1(QF). I am so looking forward to the Irish tour. Hopefully Rassie has enough time to align his guys, as he draws them from across the globe, and not from 2 sides locally( eg Leinster, Munster). No excuses, going to be exciting.
49 Go to commentsIn football, teams get fined and sometimes docked points for deliberately fielding weakened teams yet Leinster can pretty much do as they please with no comebacks. Could it be because Ireland run the URC? Could it be that Ireland run the ERC? Whichever it is, it stinks!!
6 Go to commentsIreland are only the People’s Champions in Irish eyes. The rest of the world do not care for them very much because of attitudes of people like Gordon, Ferris, Best, Jackman…I could go on!!
49 Go to commentsNot sure how Karl Dickson can ever ref a Quins game, he played for the club for 8 years as understudy to Care and is still close friends with half the team
3 Go to commentsAre bookies taking bets on how many times Vunipola's eventual statement will use the term “elders"? My money is on at least 4 times.
4 Go to commentsSo Ireland will be tired, despite having the most rested test squad in the world. They only play tests, champions cup and urc play off games ffs! Case in point; Leinster sent a B squad to SA for their last two games while their first xv rested up and trained at their leisure for the sf vs Saints at the so called ‘neutral venue’ of Croke Park. So tired? Do me a favour… And as for “people’s champions”? Seriously??? Outside of Ireland they are respected for their ability to win 6N. And of course plenty of inconsequential test friendlies without any real pressure. WC ko games when the pressure is white hot? Not so much…
49 Go to commentsSurprising how standing down or benching a player can do wonders for their motivation. Several players this week in that category.
2 Go to commentsHaha lads lads lads, that’s how you have a holiday In Majorca
4 Go to comments