Bristol sign former Harlequins wing Gabriel Ibitoye

Bristol have announced the signing of former Harlequins wing Gabriel Ibitoye. The 24-year-old had spells with French clubs Agen and Montpellier after leaving Quins, before moving to Israel and playing for Tel Aviv Heat in the Rugby Europe Super Cup.

Ibitoye, an England Under-20 international, will join Bristol ahead of next season.

Bristol rugby director Pat Lam said: “Gabriel is a hugely-talented player with the pace and versatility to threaten opposition defences.

The Grand Slam Enforcer | Paul Willemse | Le French Rugby Podcast

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The Grand Slam Enforcer | Paul Willemse | Le French Rugby Podcast

Another week, another Grand Slam winner… France enforcer Paul Willemse joins us to discuss his role as the only out-and-out second row in the team, the specialist coaching expertise and how it all comes together, the Shaun Edwards effect, his journey from budding Springbok to French hero and how he was completely ignored by the SARU, the struggle to fit into the national team at first, the honour of captaining Montpellier for the first time at the weekend and much more. Plus, we chat about Sergio Parisse playing until he’s 40 and bowing out at the 2023 World Cup, Toulouse’s quintet of Grand Slam winning replacements and how they could accommodate Jaminet, Capuozzo and Ramos next season and we pick our MEATER Moment of the Week…
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“Coming back to the Gallagher Premiership is an exciting challenge for him.

“We see huge potential in a young player who was in the conversation for an England call-up a couple of years ago.”

Ibitoye said: “Bristol is one of the most exciting clubs in the Premiership so it’s a fantastic opportunity for me and one I’m looking forward to taking.

“The experience in both France and Israel has been great for my development, as a player and a person, but I still have ambitions on the international stage, and I feel I can achieve those objectives at Bears.

“I’ve heard really positive things about the culture and environment in Bristol so I’m excited to get started next season.”

In 2020, Ibitoye told RugbyPass that leaving England wasn’t a difficult decision, even if things didn’t ultimately pan out in Montpellier and Agen, where he was voted the league’s biggest flop in his first season.

“It wasn’t a tough decision to make, to be honest,” he explains. “This current England team have a fantastic back three and I’d be lying to myself if I said I was as good as them. I think this move will accelerate my development and then hopefully in a few years’ time I’ll be at that level.

“I made the decision myself. If I’d been in contention many conversations [with Eddie Jones] would have been had but I knew I didn’t have to have those conversations because I’m not there.”

additional reporting RugbyPass