Gabriel Ibitoye shines on his TOP14 debut
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Former England u20 and Harlequins winger Gabriel Ibitoye made his TOP14 debut this past weekend against Castres having signed for Agen during lockdown.
The 22-year-old speedster made his debut on the right-wing for Agen and was involved in all three of Agen's tries in their narrow 22-26 loss to Castres.
Ibitoye made over 30 running metres against Castres while dotting down twice for his new club and assisted another try.
While Ibitoye starred on attack for his new club, he was sat down by Fijian winger Filipo Nakosi with the Castres' winger producing a brutal hand off in the first half.
Filipo Nakosi souhaite la bienvenue en @top14rugby à Gabriel Ibitoye 😂 #Rugby #SUACO #TOP14 #BigHit #castresolympique @TeamCastres @CastresRugby pic.twitter.com/pJH28W6WfN
— Rugby'O'Top (@rugbyotop) September 5, 2020
However, he recovered well to assist Paul Abadie for Agen's first try of the game.
He received the ball out wide on the wing before powering towards the defence and producing the offload to Abadie.
Some quick thinking saw Ibitoye score his first try in the TOP14.
Agen worked the ball close to the line before Ibitoye spotted the opportunity to sneak over the top of the ruck to score.
His second try was the pick of the lot with Agen pivot Mathieu Lamoulie popping in an excellent little kick which bounced favourably for Ibitoye.
The try and conversion saw Agen take a 22-17 lead with about 30 minutes to play. However, Castres took control of the game despite Hans Nkinsi going to the sin bin.
Los Pumas International Ben Urdapilleta slotted three successive penalties to hand Castres a 22-26 victory.
