Ibitoye on growth at Bears and why club is 'home'

Bristol Bears winger Gabriel Ibitoye has come a long way from the player he was when he first joined the club two years ago.

The 26-year-old returned to the English Premiership with the Bears in 2022 after two years playing abroad at clubs in France and Israel.

Last season he topped the table for many of the attacking stats, including most offloads, most line breaks and most beaten defenders, of any player in the league.

"I wasn’t the same player when I came into Bristol as I am now," he told BBC Sport.

"The coaches, getting up to speed - being out of a professional environment week in, week out - that does make a difference."

Ibitoye, who signed a new long-term deal in February, has so far made 39 appearances and scored 16 tries for the Bears as he goes into his third campaign with the club.

"I feel at home, even before I re-signed I told Pat [Lam, director of rugby] I don't want to go anywhere else, I want to stay here. It was an easy decision to make," he said.

"When I feel settled and feel at home that's when I'm at my happiest and perform the best. We've got a good group of boys here who I've got on with since day one so I've really enjoyed my time here and want it to continue as long as possible."

Ibitoye has a CV not many in English rugby can relate to.

He began his career with Harlequins and as a teenager was part of the England side that won the Under-20 Six Nations in 2017.

The following year he was called up by then England head coach Eddie Jones for a training camp as an apprentice, along with Marcus Smith.

He scored 10 tries in 22 matches during a breakthrough 2019-20 season before leaving Quins in 2020 midway through his contract to join French Top 14 side Agen.

Ibitoye was loaned out to Montpellier shortly after but his time in France was disrupted by injuries. He only played a total of nine games for both sides before choosing to return home.

It was then that a call from a former coach at Harlequins came in, offering him the chance to play in Israel.

"I'll always say that has been the best rugby experience I'll ever have," Ibitoye said.

"It was a lot of guys from different rugby journeys, some boys were playing club rugby in South Africa, then you had Fijian, Namibian, Scottish internationals.

"It was good. Helping the guys that didn't have exposure of professional rugby and learning off the guys who had been to the top, and exploring different cities as well with coaches who just wanted to help us and put the players out there."

Bristol is a club known for its running rugby and it is easy to see why Ibitoye has thrived there under Lam, who said he had "developed immensely".

"You would always see the guy who was at Quins and that he could do something special," Lam added.

"Now when you look at what he does on and off the ball, within a team environment and playing team rugby that's where you're seeing him excel.

"Before his highlights would all be about the footwork, hands. But what we're seeing is the way he runs back, the way he does things off the ball, and his reads of defence.

"All of that stuff is what's making him an even better player."

With Bristol narrowly missing out on a place in the top four last season, the obvious ambition for the 2024-25 season is to reach the play-offs. They start the new campaign away to Newcastle Falcons on Friday.

"I just want to win something," Ibitoye said.

"I don’t think I have won anything yet so I would love to win some sort of trophy with the team, that would mean so much."

Getting into the England squad is also something Ibitoye would "love" to do. "If the team’s playing well and we’re winning, that helps," he added.