Bristol Bears wing Gabriel Ibitoye voted Gallagher Player of the Month for October

Bristol Bears wing Gabriel Ibitoye has been voted as October’s Gallagher Player of the Month, winning 48% of the public poll ahead of Gloucester Rugby scrum-half Tomos Williams, Saracens No.8 Tom Willis and Leicester Tigers back-row Olly Cracknell.

After six rounds of Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Ibitoye is joint top of the try-scoring charts having added four tries during October’s Gallagher Premiership Rugby action. This included a breathtaking nine-minute hat-trick in Bristol’s remarkable comeback victory over Exeter Chiefs in Derby Weekend (Round 4).

The 26-year-old also ranked top for metres made in October and was among the top five players for defenders beaten, clean breaks and offloads in what was a stunning ‘highlight reel’ month for the winger, with England head coach Steve Borthwick noting his impressive form in recent interviews.

Will Davies, Account Manager at Gallagher, said: “It is a pleasure to present this Gallagher Player of the Month trophy to Gabriel who has played brilliantly so far during this season. Bristol Bears have momentum behind them at the moment and Gabriel is a big driving force in that respect.

“Gabriel’s talent on the pitch hasn’t gone unnoticed so far this season and I’ve no doubt that he will continue to play well.”

Ibitoye is the Bears’ second consecutive winner after Max Malins was voted as September’s Gallagher Player of the Month.

The shortlist was voted for by a panel of media professionals.

The judges for the 2024/25 Gallagher Premiership Rugby season are: Jill Douglas (ITV, BBC), Ali Eykyn (TNT Sports), Hugh Godwin (i), Chris Jones (BBC), Alex Lowe (The Times), Gavin Mairs (Telegraph), Ugo Monye (BBC, TNT Sports), Nick Mullins (TNT Sports) and Claire Thomas (BBC, TNT Sports).