Glasgow Warriors coach Franco Smith has signed a young, 2.03-metre lock from the Free State to a two-year extension.
Olujare Oguntibeju was born in Bloemfontein—where Smith forged his own rugby legacy. The 22-year-old has taken a winding journey to this point: born in South Africa to Nigerian parents, he spent part of his childhood in Edinburgh before returning to the Republic, where the Springboks inspired him to make a run at playing rugby professionally rugby.
“It is probably the country that inspired me to really want to play rugby fully because I was in South Africa during the 2019 World Cup and seeing the impact rugby had on the people in South Africa was a very amazing moment,” he told The Scotsman.
“So I was like, ‘that’s kind of cool, I want to be like that, I want to be up there’.”
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After overcoming a serious knee injury in 2022 while with Scotland U20, Oguntibeju’s rapid rise to Glasgow’s starting lineup suggests the lock born in Smith’s rugby heartland has won his coach’s confidence .
Having tied his international future to Scotland, Oguntibeju has set his sights on a big career under Smith’s guidance. The young lock only joined Glasgow’s senior academy last year but quickly progressed, debuting for the first team in a win over Scarlets and starting in Champions Cup matches against Sale and Toulon.
His breakthrough came after a Scotland A cap against Chile in November, and locked in his allegiance to Scotland.
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