October shortlist for Premiership player of the month unveiled
In-form Bristol Bears winger Gabriel Ibitoye is one of four players shortlisted for October’s Gallagher Premiership Player of the Month, as he looks to join September winner and club teammate Max Malins on the honours board.
Ibitoye has been an ever-present in the Bears’ starting line-up this month and raced home for a breathtaking, ninth-minute hat-trick as the Bears staged a stunning comeback against Exeter.
And the 26-year-old was on the scoresheet again last weekend when Bristol saw off reigning Premiership champions Northampton, 31-23, at Ashton Gate.
The other three nominees are no less deserving and they include two back-rowers in Saracens’ Tom Willis and Leicester’s Olly Cracknell.
Outstanding No.8 Willis is top of the Premiership carry charts with 114, while the industrious Cracknell is fourth on that front, and has been a key player for Leicester in what is shaping up to be a transformative first season under Michael Cheika.
Scrum-half Tomos Williams makes up the quartet having proved pivotal to Gloucester’s new-found attacking style.