6ft 8in South African-born forward 'captured' by Scotland signs first pro deal

Jare Oguntibeju in action for Scotland A against Chile at Hive Stadium in Edinburgh in November last year. | SNS Group / SRU

Born in South Africa, raised by Nigerian parents, schooled (partly) in Edinburgh and now ‘captured’ by Scotland, Jare Oguntibeju’s route into rugby has been more circuitous than most but the Glasgow Warriors forward has a big future ahead of him

The 22-year has just signed his first professional contract and Franco Smith, his coach at Glasgow, believes he can go on to play internationally if he continues to develop at his current rate.

Oguntibeju has put pen to paper on a two-year deal with the Warriors having only joined the club’s senior academy last summer. He played in pre-season games for Glasgow and then for their second-string A side before his competitive first-team breakthrough.

Jare Oguntibeju in action for Scotland A against Chile at Hive Stadium in Edinburgh in November last year. | SNS Group / SRU

A physically imposing second row, the 6ft 8in, 19-plus stone player was called up by Pete Horne for the Scotland A international against Chile in November. He came on as a replacement against the South Americans, impressing Horne who was in charge of the Scotland team.

Oguntibeju enjoyed the occasion even though he was a little surprised to learn that the appearance tied his international future to Scotland.

“It was a good experience,” said Oguntibeju, who also qualifies for South Africa and Nigeria. “I learnt a lot that week and just being in that environment was kind of fun. I didn't expect to be there at all because I literally just came out of injury the week before.

“I got a call from Pete and I thought it was a joke. I was actually quite shocked. He was happy with how I was performing before then so I was happy to take that opportunity. I was happy to at least come off the bench and do something.”

Born in Bloemfontein, Oguntibeju moved to Scotland as a young child and went to primary school in Edinburgh and then St Augustine’s High School in the city for S1 and S2 where he was exposed mainly to football and basketball. He then returned to South Africa and took up rugby relatively late. His progress was rapid. He came back to the UK and played for Ealing Trailfinders, was capped by Scotland at under-20 level then suffered a serious knee injury while playing for the latter in 2022 which sidelined him for the best part of two years.

Jare Oguntibeju scoring a try for Glasgow Warriors against Toulon in the Champions Cup in France last December. | AFP via Getty Images

He rebuilt his career and, after a spell with Stirling Wolves in the Super Series, Glasgow gave him his chance. He made his first-team debut six days after the Scotland A game in a win over the Scarlets then started the Investec Champions Cup matches against Sale and Toulon, impressing particularly in the latter.

He said it was exposure to the game in South Africa that made him commit to rugby.

“I think 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 explained.

“So I was like, ‘that's kind of cool, I want to be like that, I want to be up there’.

“Obviously, Scotland is a good option as well. I didn't know this until I was on the bench but I'm captured by Scotland through the A game. So that's where my focus is right now. That's where I am right now, I'm in Scotland, so that's the focus.”